Come Fly with Me
by LaLizi
Summary: AU. John Bates' only way to divorce his wife and keep his company is to prove she is having an affair. Anna Smith of Carson's Private Investigators goes undercover on the case. What starts out as an infidelity investigation becomes much more and when John finds himself in serious trouble, Anna's skills and heart are put to the test, as she may be the only one who can save him.
1. I need a Private Investigator

**Since I refuse to acknowledge season 4 ever existed, I cannot write anything cannon and will try my hand with an AU instead. I wanted to see Anna as a real life "Anna Bates Investigates" character. I expect this to be long and have it all mapped out, but I write slower than I wish. There will be many DA Characters involved, but most prominent are Chelsie, Richard Carlisle, Anthony Strallan, Robert, Mary, Matthew, Gwen, O'Brien, Thomas, Molesley and Baxter. Not all the characters will follow their DA characteristics. Ex. – Richard has nothing to do with Mary. If I "cast" them, it is because they are similar in personality to the type of characters I was setting up. Others do follow story cannon… (Go Chelsie!) I am attempting drama with romance and some mysteries included. I am nervous about this and I hope to pull it off. **

**Thank you to Cherry88, my designated beta, for reading the story and making sure it sounds logical. Also, for her enthusiasm and pep talks when after season 4, I swore that I could never write Banna again. So much for that.**

**I don't own any of the Downton Abbey characters. They belong to Carnival and Julian Fellowes. If I did own them, I would definitely rewrite their brilliant actors some new plots so that they are actually in the show most of the time and not just as designated props.**

* * *

"Vera, we don't love each other. Why are we still doing this? Why won't you agree to an amicable divorce? Our lives would be much easier if we did."

She looked at him with a cold, bitter gaze. "You know why…. And because of that, you'll be attached to me for as long as I like."

John sighed. His voice was tempered, holding back his frustration, but, a hint of his desperation came through. He knew she thrived on his misery and he must not let her see it. He must work harder to stay calm.

"It would be so easy Vera. IF we separate by mutual accord, we split the assets in half. I would buy your share of the company. You could do so much with that money. It's enough for you to start another venture, travel the world, or live comfortably on interest alone. You would want for nothing. Wouldn't you prefer that? Tranquility from our fighting? Anything I say bothers you. Wouldn't you rather be away from all of this?"

Vera laughed in John's face. "Oh darling…. Living with you gives me great joy. Fighting with you gives me such satisfaction." She grinned cunningly at him. "Why would I ever want to stop?"

John was already upset, but she could tell those last words really hit a nerve. His jaw went stiff and she could see his fists clench, a clear sign of tension. She went in further, wanting to annoy him even more.

"Anyway, I would never sell you my half. I don't know where you got that idea." She arched her back, standing straighter, and a clear sign of defiance.

"It is what makes sense Vera. I don't see us working together once divorced, and although you have contributed to the growth of Bates Airlift….." John paused, measuring his words. "It is more my company than yours. I was the first pilot; I made the first contracts…. There are customers who only want to deal with me. It would be natural for me to retain the company."

"That may be the case, but, if we were to split up, I would take you for every cent you're worth. I would see to it that the courts left you without a dime…., so watch what you do Batesy. I can replace you with a good Manager. In this economic crisis, good people are not hard to find. You are not as necessary as you think."

John was fuming. The idea that Vera could take away his company was preposterous. It was his blood and sweat that had built it up to what it was now. Vera had been along for the ride, but, she had proven worthless as a Manager. She was mainly a decoration, managing the Public Relations, although she really didn't do anything. He was aware that Gwen did most of that work. He had to find a way out of this situation. There was one way and he would catch her.

"I have legal recourse and you know it. I will get a divorce sooner or later."

Vera smiled, but John could see that his words got to her. He could fight this. He could bring her down.

She turned to leave, but tilted her head just to say the last few words. There was bitterness, mixed with defiance in her tone.

"Well, good luck. You just try, John Bates. You just try to divorce me. You'll find it is harder than you think."

* * *

"Mr. Crawley will see you now," spoke the matronly looking receptionist.

John hated lawyers. He had experienced detrimental situations with them in the past and much to his chagrin, as part owner of Bates Airlift, he couldn't avoid having one. From reviewing new contracts with clients, helicopter leases, to the couple of unfortunate, but pointless lawsuits they had endured, he was not going to be free of them anytime soon. His business needed them. Fortunately for him, the company had moved their business to the firm of Crawley and Blake on recommendation from his best mate Robert a few years back. Senior partner Matthew Crawley was very congenial, utterly professional and reliable and John felt secure that his business was in good hands when Matthew was involved. His specialty was corporate law, not family law, but John would rather have a lawyer he trusted when it came to this very delicate matter.

As he walked the corridor, he couldn't help thinking that the waiting room was very masculine, what a lawyer's reception area should look like. There were brown leather sofas, wood paneling and mahogany furniture. John realized that these were all stall tactics in his mind. He shouldn't care what the furniture looked like, but, his mind was racing and he needed to distract himself. It had taken him a long time to finally seek Matthew out for the questions he had and he was determined to stay and see his topic through.

"John, how good to see you."

"Likewise, Matthew."

"What can I do for you today? The contract for your newest client was reviewed and approved. I'm not sure what we have pending unless you have a new client."

"Actually, this is a consultation of a personal nature." John sat back, closed his eyes and concentrated on his words. "How can I divorce Vera without losing my share of the company?"

Matthew sighed and John could sense a bit of a hesitation before Matthew responded.

"Divorce Vera?

"This is not new Matthew. I've wanted this for many years, but did not have the nerve to start the process. I am ready now. I just don't want to lose everything I have."

"I see. Has she agreed to divorce you?"

"No. She refuses to, even though I have begged her through the years. It's not love that keeps her tied to me. Its vengeance…. But, I just can't take it anymore. I need to be free of her and I want her out of the company. I want to give her what's fair. This should be a fifty-fifty split of assets and I intend to buy her out as soon as we are divorced."

"This will be no easy task, John… Especially if she's already refused you.

"She's told me flat out that she will never divorce me and that even if we did, that she would never sell me her part, so, I know that it will be difficult, but, I think there is a way and I need you to tell me if it is possible at all."

"Do you mean the divorce clause in your incorporation paperwork?"

"Yes. You could probably explain it better than I could, but it says that I can sue for divorce if she is untrue."

John pulled out the copies of the document that he had already highlighted for their discussion. He handed them to Matthew. He put on his glasses and read through them quietly and quickly.

Matthew took a few moments to think before responding.

"Yes, John. When you and Vera incorporated Bates Airlift, the lawyer that prepared that paperwork was very crafty and this clause…," he pointed to the same highlighted text, "states that your association can be dissolved in the case of embezzlement or divorce brought on by infidelity from one of the parties. In the case that either of these should happen, both parties agree that they will end their right to the partnership, at which point, the affected party has the right to buy out the other party's portion and remain he legitimate and sole owner of the company."

John felt relieved that Matthew was reconfirming his understanding of the clause. Yet, Matthew still held some hesitation.

"John. This does not cover all manner of divorce – just divorce brought on by infidelity. How do you intend to pursue this clause? Do you…."

John cut him off quickly.

"Vera has been unfaithful to me countless times. I know it, I just can't prove it."

"Well, that's a start. For you to even consider this, you'll need the proof. Can you get it?" Matthew set the papers down and sat back in his chair.

John scratched his head. He hadn't really considered how he would get the proof.

"You'll need to hire a private Investigator or install cameras on your own, tap her phone, install screen capture software…"

John looked weary. He didn't think he could pull off anything on his own. He wasn't that sneaky.

He smiled, feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders.

"I guess I'll hire a private detective."

* * *

Mary came back to the booth where Anna was waiting for her with two cool glasses of cider.

"Oh thank you. I really needed that." Anna took her glass and immediately drank until the glass was half full.

"Oh, My. You really were thirsty!"

"Absolutely. That and that I want to forget this day. Another interview for another job I do not want."

"Was it that bad?"

"Bad… and then some."

Both Anna and Mary had recently graduated from the University of Warwick, Anna attaining her degree in Business administration and Mary in Estate Management.

"Why was this one so bad?" Mary asked, and then spoke up again. "Let me guess…. It is another greasy interviewer who couldn't keep his eyes off of your legs or the middle aged matron threatened by your good looks that didn't get you through to the actual interview?"

Anna laughed as she straightened out her legs for Mary to see. She was smartly dressed, very businesslike, with a tweed two piece pantsuit. Her hair was pulled back into a discreet bun and her makeup was very minimal. Her shoes, though quite high, were not sexy. They were career minded. There was nothing about her appearance that would entice or threaten either way. She was very professional looking; exactly what somebody looking for a job should be wearing.

"No, not pervert. He wouldn't have been able to see my beautiful legs in this outfit…..and no block-and-tackle woman either. This is a new reason – try false advertising…."

Mary looked confused as Anna tried to explain.

"The ad was for an entry level Sales Executive at Ripon Auto parts." Anna pointed to the newspaper cutout that she carried around in her satchel.

"Right, we looked at it together," exclaimed Mary as she took a sip of her own drink.

"Well, for me that would mean Sales calls, dealing with customers, maybe even retail, which would not have made me happy, but, I would have taken even that position, just so that I could get some work experience. But, no. For them, that means wearing a giant plastic sparkplug outfit, standing on a street corner with a huge sign and waving at cars, Lorries and buses to get their attention."

Mary almost spit out her drink when she heard Anna's explanation. "A sparkplug?"

Anna shook her head and both started laughing.

"That certainly wins for most falsely represented ad," Mary couldn't stop laughing.

"What am I going to do, Mary? I need a job."

"You have a job. Sort of… Why are you worrying so much? It's not like you need the money. You still have some left, right?"

"I have plenty, but I spent thousands of pounds from my parent's inheritance on this education. It has to be worth something. I can't go on helping my godparents forever. There has to be life beyond Carson's Private Investigators. There has to be, or I'll be the best damn educated PI in the region and I will have spent all that money for nothing."

Mary reached out to take Anna's hand.

"Patience darling. I am only buying my time here at my father's pub too. Any experience is good experience and one day, I will run our ancestral estate. It may belong to the government now, but I will. We just have to be patient, so, do not get desperate. Take it easy. We've only just graduated a few months ago and even though the title "Private Investigator" does not give you the sense of fulfillment you seek, you are very good at it. Maybe there is a way of getting what you want through that."

Anna reached out to Mary as well.

They had been best friends since they met during their first term at Warwick. Both were from Ripon, yet neither had ever met until they shared an Advanced Maths class in University. When things started disappearing from Mary's flat, in frustration, she mentioned it to Anna, unaware of the latter's background in Investigations. Anna took on the surveillance, implanting miniature cameras. After several days, Anna had what she was looking for - actual footage of Mary's flatmate rifling through her drawers until she found what she wanted, putting it away in her handbag. After this disagreeable situation, they found themselves matched in attitudes and temperament and decided to live together. Even after they graduated, they were still inseparable, now sharing a flat close to "Crawley's Pub".

"Your right of course," acknowledged Anna while squeezing Mary's hand. "Just once, I want a case to be more than just the typical sitting in a van, waiting for the spouse to cheat. I enjoy Missing Persons cases, they offer a lot and less mundane work, but, I don't enjoy the anguish the family has to go through, so, I need something different. Something where I can prove that I can do so much more…."

"Well, we'll pray for that, but in the meantime, how about you drink up and I go get us another round?"

"Yes, anything to forget the sparkplug. Bring me more cider!"

* * *

"Ah, John. It's been several weeks since you were last here. I was beginning to worry. What's up mate?" John enthusiastically greeted his friend Robert, proprietor of Crawley's Pub. They first met during the first Gulf War in 1991, and as both stayed in the military, their paths crossed again when they did a tour of duty in 1995 within NATO forces during the Bosnian War. Since that time, Robert was one of the few people John felt he could really trust. Every once in a while, he made the trek from his offices in the outskirts of York to the pub for a chat and some refreshment. He felt more at home in Robert's establishment than in his own house.

"Will you take the usual?"

Before he could even respond, Robert was pouring a diet coke with an added sliver of lemon on the side.

"You know me so well…."

Both men grinned and Robert added a small bowl with crisps.

"I ought to know you well. How many years has it been?"

"Twenty two this coming summer," responded John without having to do much calculation.

"That's very precise." Robert opened his eyes wide with surprise. "Has it really been that long?" He continued to wipe the counter as they spoke.

"Yes, that's four in the military, on top of the eighteen years of misery I've been living." The biting tone in John's voice left no doubt as to his painful situation.

"Is it one of those days, John?" Robert knew all too well how poor his marriage was, if it could be called that. That was not a loving union by a long shot. It was a stark contrast to the happy life he lead with his wife and three daughters. He really did feel bad for his friend.

"Let me not bore you with the repetitive details. I think you've heard enough through the years, but yes, it is one of those days."

Robert put down the glassware he was rearranging on the counter. He stood still and focused on John. Some conversations required full concentration.

"I don't mind. How are you going to get a load off if you don't tell me?"

John grinned. Robert was a true friend.

"Actually, I'm here to tell you I've made a determination. I am finished with this farce of a marriage. I am tired of Vera and I think I have paid enough for my sins of the past. It is time for her to go."

Roberts jaw dropped slightly as he heard the words coming out of his friend's mouth. John had been upset over the years, and time and time again he would manifest just how done he was. Somehow, though, this felt different. There was a steely resolve to his voice today. Something that made Robert think that maybe this time, John was finally ready to put the wheels in motion and get his life back.

"So, you are sure? You are ready to do this?" Robert knew Vera would not go quietly. She was the queen of manipulation and could get her way with anything she wanted. He had been a witness to several of her ploys throughout the years. If John was going to start this, he needed to be ready and in the right frame of mind to do battle.

"I am sure Robert. I have spent far too many years guilted by Vera at every turn. I think I have paid my dues."

"You know I will help you in any way I can."

"Thanks mate."

"So, what's next?"

"I've already gone to Matthew Crawley, which by the way - I will never thank you enough for recommending him …"

Robert nodded, in appreciation. Matthew was a good lad and the son of a distant cousin. He knew he was a good lawyer, but that was it. He had not had much relation with the young man.

"What does he have to say? Is he preparing for battle? Vera will want to take you for everything your worth."

"That she will, so, the only way I can divorce her, forcibly, and not lose the shirt off my back is if I can prove she's been unfaithful."

Robert laughed. "That should not be too hard, right?"

"Well, it shouldn't, but Vera knows my moves too well. I could never follow her, or figure out how to do anything in stealth mode. I do not want to jeopardize the stability of the office either and I would probably bungle that, because I am 100% sure that Vera is having an affair with somebody from the office. I don't know who, but there are enough pretty boy flyers, mechanics and male office personnel on my staff that she can have her pick of. She's hinted at it several times. She struts through the office in the sultriest way and I am too dense to figure out who it is. I suspect everybody. I need professionals and I don't care how much I have to pay to get the job done. I'll do anything to make sure we get this right. I'll only get one shot."

John's voice had gone up several decibels as he finished his small discourse. He was certainly passionate about the subject.

"Bravo, my friend. I finally see the John Bates I knew from long ago. "

"I now have to find a private investigator. I am not looking forward to this." Robert grinned inquisitively. "I have this idea that private investigators are washed out ex-police, only sober enough to do menial investigations. I need to find somebody good. I cannot waste my time with anybody like that. How do I even start?"

He scratched his head, reflecting on the arduous task that he had ahead of him.

"I know someone." Robert crossed his arms in front of his chest with satisfaction.

"You do? "John was taken aback, but reminded himself quickly that Robert did manage his own bar. He was bound to know countless people in all sorts of trades. "Who?"

"Yes, I do. Mary's best friend, Anna – You know- The petite pretty blond?"

John had no clue who Robert was talking about. He'd met one or two of his daughter's friends and boyfriends in the pub through the years, but could not conjure up the details of any one of those persons.

When John looked clueless, Robert continued.

"Never mind. So, this Anna…..The people who raised her, her godparents, they are Private Investigators. I believe their name is Carson. I met them once, at Mary and Anna's University Commencement. They seemed nice, or at least, decent people. Maybe you can explain to them what you need and if this is out of their league, they might be able to recommend somebody more appropriate. That way, you don't have to open the yellow pages, close your eyes and use your finger to choose a company."

"Well, that's not a bad idea, but, Rob – Nobody uses the yellow pages anymore. You google…"

"Ha, Ha. So, would you like me to contact them or not? I can call Mary right away."

"Yes, let's do that… and Rob? Do you think we could meet here, in your office, privately?"

"I guess so, but why?" Robert arched his eyebrows trying to guess the reason.

"I don't want to become paranoiac, but, Vera knows I come here often. If I was to go elsewhere, and she was having me followed, then she would immediately know and she could stop her "activities" long enough for this little venture of mine to be deemed a failure."

Robert was taken aback by this request.

"You think you're being followed?" He looked at John skeptically.

"Well, no. Not for certain. I am just covering my bases. You know Vera. Nothing is off limits with her. Who is to say she's not resorting to the same tactics I am?"

Robert sighed.

"Sure mate. It's not like Ripon is a great metropolis anyway. Let me see if they're not too busy to meet with you tonight."

* * *

"Who is this John Bates anyway?" Anna inquired she held the door of the pub open for Mary. When Mary took the call, they were making their way back to their flat and they turned back. She immediately rang for her Pops and Elsie and they had all agreed to meet at the pub, per John's request. She didn't normally involve herself with the clients of infidelity cases, she left that to her Godparents, but, seeing as the call had come from Robert Crawley himself, she would involve herself a little more.

"Papa and John served together during a Bosnia intervention in the nineties," responded Mary as she walked through and into pub. "They've been friends since. He was a helicopter pilot, and I don't understand how or why, but, he came into some money and was able to start his own company, here in Yorkshire. He's actually very rich, and owns a fleet of helicopters, doing all sorts of transport. I've seen him through the years, but we don't see him that often because I understand his wife is horrid. That, I believe, is why you are here."

"Mmmmm" thought Anna. He has his own company? That's the type of connections she needed to get a job. She would definitely sit in on this meeting.

"Hi Papa." Mary leaned in to kiss her father's cheek across the bar.

"Hi Mr. Crawley."

"Hello ladies…. and Anna, I've told you a million times it's Robert. Not Mr. Crawley."

Anna blushed and meekly answered back, "Yes, Robert. Thanks for the call."

"This is one of my best mates. He has a real issue that he needs help with and I thought about you and the Carsons. I am not sure if what he needs is up your alley, but, if it isn't, I thought you could advise him?"

"Absolutely. It will be our pleasure." Anna looked around, expecting to find the mysterious John Bates, but none of the current customers struck her as being a fortysomething pilot, owner of his own company. There were mostly groups of friends and a couple of people that looked nervous enough for her to believe they were on first dates.

Craning her head in all directions, she finally asked. "Where is the mysterious John Bates? I can't place him."

"Well, he's a little sensitive regarding this discussion and he asked to meet you in my office. He's upstairs."

"Mmmmm," was Anna's audible response. Upstairs? This wasn't an MI5 meeting. This man must be really uptight she thought.

"Stop it Anna."

"Stop what?" she turned and asked Mary.

"You're doing the "Mmmmm" thing where you just get lost in your thoughts."

Before Anna could answer, the chimes on the door announced that somebody had entered.

"You just had to park in that spot, didn't you?" was bellowed loudly in a Scottish brogue.

"Of Course, why wouldn't I? The closest is at least 300 yards away and this spot is right in front," he said matter of fact.

"So? Exercise would do you good!" Elsie looked at Charles' stomach when she spoke. "But no, now we are wedged in and it will take a good half hour of your turning the wheel to get us out of there."

Charles looked miffed that she had referenced his beer belly.

"Does it matter? Or are you in a hurry? Will you be missing Coronation Street?" His left eyebrow was raised, demonstrating he was being sarcastic

Elsie narrowed her eyes. She hated it when he guessed her true motivations. She had nothing else to say on the matter.

Anna rolled her eyes. Her Godparents were here, or Pops and Elsie as she called them. They did almost everything together, bickering loudly. When they were not on a case, it was impossible to not notice them. Some people thought that they were unhappy, that the little fights weakened them, but, Anna, who knew them better than no one, was the only one who could say that they were 100% devoted to each other. The most they could be apart was a couple of hours, and then they would spend some of that time on the phone. Elsie and Charles Carson lived for each other and they had been together a little over 30 years.

As if on cue, both turned around pleasantly to greet Robert, Mary and Anna.

Their boisterous demeanor slipped away to something akin the Edwardian era. Charles voice was deeper and Elsie's façade was pleasant and warm, ever the lady. Anna laughed internally. That is why the Carsons were so good at what they did. They could become a different set of people in an instant.

"Good Evening, Robert and Mary." They exchanged pleasantries and handshakes.

Then, they each took turns kissing Anna's cheek. "Hello, Love. It's been so long since we last saw you."

"It's been only three days," retorted Anna, confused. They had shared lunch as they compared notes and closed the Oliver Infidelity case. Had they already forgotten?

"Yes, a long time," stated Charles as he winked at Anna.

Anna rolled her eyes again, but laughed. She did adore them. She came to live with them when she was 14, having lost her parents in a car crash. Elsie was a friend of her mother's and they were her Godparents. Even when she did have some uncles that lived in America, her parent's written will gave the Carson's guardianship if it were ever to become necessary. Unfortunately, it had. While their first year was tumultuous as they became used to raising a teenager, the Carson's never having had children of their own; they soon came into easy living and got on very well as a family. Anna didn't know what she would do without them. She had learned their trade and become a reluctant junior partner. She wanted a bigger challenge, but dared not offend their sensibilities.

"So", turned Charles back to Robert. "There is a gentleman that may need our services?"

* * *

After quick introductions, Charles, Elsie, Anna and John all sat in Robert's cramped office space, huddled around his desk, looking at each other. John's face reflected doubt, and he was having a hard time being discreet with his hesitation. The petite blond, Mary's friend, was too pretty and very businesslike. The man, Charles, was wearing tweed trousers, a cashmere jumper, and a dark sports coat with leather patches on his elbow. Brown suede loafers finished off his outfit. The Lady, Elsie, looked like a grandmother with glasses hanging by her neck on a chain, but, like Charles' twin, she was wearing similar tweed trousers, similar loafers and a similar cashmere jumper in another color. She wasn't wearing a sports jacket; instead, she had a colorful shawl draped around her shoulders. None of the three people with him looked like private investigators.

Charles started the conversation. "I understand you may need our services, Mr. Bates, but you seem hesitant. Is there a problem?"

Anna's first impression of John made her swoon. He was wearing simple jeans, a classic white polo, a brown leather aviator type jacket and had sunglasses on him. To her, he looked like a mature Tom Cruise. Not that he looked like Cruise, just, knowing that John was a pilot; her mind took her to the infamous "Top Gun" movie poster. She saw the parallels. HE was handsome, even if he was a bit older than her. This pilot had very kind eyes, wore his hair a little longer and looser around his face and was a larger man. In any other type of situation, he might be her type, but as a customer, and a married one with problems, he was off limits. She would have to limit herself to admire his physique from a distance.

She was shaken from her thoughts by John's response to her Pops' question.

"I'll be completely honest with you and I mean no offense. I need a Private Investigator, but none of you three strike me as what I need."

Charles understood what this was about. They encountered this type of prejudice often enough in their profession.

"No offense taken, Mr. Bates, but, pray I ask – What exactly is your hesitation? Where you expecting us to be wearing a cape and mop hat, smoking a pipe a la Sherlock Holmes? Or a flowery shirt and shorts like Mr. Magnum PI in Hawaii? How about Anna here?" He turned to point at her. "Fancy her as an older Veronica Mars? Should she be wearing a backpack?" He turned to look at John, as his voice deepened. "Whatever your preconceived notion of what we should look like, I ask that you erase those from your mind."

John looked visibly sheepish as Charles continued on his small speech.

"Mr. Bates, we understand you have a need, but, we do not know what that need is. So, why don't we just talk, confidentially? We'll tell you if we can handle your needs and how we can go about them. If you do not feel comfortable with what we can offer, then, you are under no obligation to continue this conversation. As a friend of the Crawley's, we'll refer you to somebody else."

John did have to admit that he felt a little ashamed. After all, he had faced a lot of stereotypes in his career too. As a pilot, many people thought that in his relationship with Vera, he would be the one prone to cheating. After all, he spent much time away from home whenever he had work. That was ludicrous. In his eighteen miserable years of marriage, he had never cheated on her. Not once. He had opportunities, but that was not who he was. Yet, that is what the majority of people thought about pilots - That they were vain, philandering, prima donnas. Maybe he should give these people a chance. What did he have to lose?

"Forgive me. I am just a bit nervous. Just today I spoke to my solicitor and he recommended I hire a Private Detective. This has all happened a bit fast. I did not expect to talk to you so soon."

"Not a problem. So tell us. Do you suspect your wife is having an affair? _Is that what this is about?"_

"Well, yes", answered John. "But, it's a little more than that. There is a lot more at stake here. For a variety of reasons I won't get into now, we have been together 18 years, each one more miserable than the year before. She's hinted at affairs and told me to my face when we've had fights. This is not new. It's quite frequent that I hear about it, and yet, I have never once tried to investigate whether the allegations are true or not. Until now. I cannot continue to live my life this way and she has refused several times to grant me a divorce. I can force it through the courts if I can get the proof that I need, but, I MUST GET PROOF." He emphasized these four words vigorously. "She is very treacherous and manipulative. If she realizes what I am trying to do, to follow her and get this proof, she will come after me with a vengeance and I will lose it all. We are co-owners of Bates Airlift, Inc., a small helicopter transport company. When we divorce, our assets will be split in half and I will be able to buy out her portion. I intend to give her what is fair. She refuses now, but my only option lies in proving her infidelity. She has threatened me many times, telling me that she will ruin me if I attempt anything and that she will end up with full ownership of the company herself."

Anna sat there listening to this man. What a lifetime of misery. He wasn't like the typical spouses that came to them crying, because after living in blissful naivety, they suspected their partner was cheating. He had lived with this so long and new about it. This case, even if it was the tedious infidelity type that she loathed, was not the usual. If he didn't get proof, he may even lose his company. This entire case may require a little extra, and it might play into her desire to do something different. She needed to act fast before her Pops provided the normal options.

"Tell me Mr. Bates," Anna spoke, eliciting a grumble from her Godfather. He was used to doing all of the initial talking and negotiating. "Do you suspect who she is cheating with?"

John turned to look at her when she asked her question. He had noticed she was pretty, but, the moment she spoke to him, he saw confidence and a very direct personality. She was also very poised. He had to admit, if he had encountered her twenty years ago, he would have gone after her.

Still, he was able to focus to answer. "It could be anybody, but, I have reasons to believe it is somebody from within my company. She stays late sometimes when I know she has nothing else to work on. I also received an anonymous note, on my desk about a year ago, telling me that I shouldn't trust all my personnel. I am sure that has something to do with Vera."

"Mmmmm. I see," She was thinking quickly.

Charles injected just then, ready to explain what they could offer.

"I think Mr. Bates that we can offer you…

Anna cut him off.

"Our Premium Package." Anna took ahold of the situation, commanding John's focus while Charles and Elsie looked at each other with shock that they were trying to suppress so John did not notice. Anna had never taken over a client before.

"Your Premium package?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Our standard package would have us trail…What is your wife's name?

"Vera"

"We would normally trail Vera, implanting GPS devices, staking out those places where she is visiting, obviously wiretapping and closed circuit surveillance where possible, all in the hopes of taking the required pictures, or taping any incriminating conversations. We will obviously do all of that." She turned to look at her Godparents so that they knew she was not discounting any of their normal tactics. "But, the Premium package is what you need. Since the proof you need requires to be upheld in court, and some of our tactics may not be admissible, we will have to work twice as hard for the information you need. That requires extra labor. You need somebody on the inside. Somebody within your company that could provide the extra level of surveillance without creating any unnecessary suspicion."

'I am a little lost", John said. "How do I get somebody on the inside?" Anna turned to look at Elsie and Charles and both were wearing the same confused look John had. They immediately composed their faces, so when John turned to look at them, they looked every bit as confident as when they walked in.

"Easy," explained Anna. "You hire me to come work for you." This was it, Anna thought. She couldn't have come up with a better plan in such a short time. She needed work experience to give her credibility and hopefully another job in the future. John needed somebody he could trust on the inside. If she came to work for him, she could serve both purposes.

"Once I am there, I will actually work for your company, but, you get the added benefit that I will actually be working towards the goal of getting all of the necessary evidence you need to make sure that once this gets to court, it is irrefutable."

"That does sound very enticing. I must say. I just don't know how I could hire you without arousing suspicion. I have no open vacancies and any hiring has to be approved by myself, Vera and our Accountant. The moment I suggest this, Vera will be on to us."

Anna steered the conversation with an expertise that astounded her.

"There are several ways of going about it because not every company is the same. We understand that. If you cannot go through the process of actually hiring me, we usually suggest that you bring me as a post graduate intern and then rotate me through the departments. An internship usually lasts six months and has a token salary, but does not require you to pay me any benefits…..or, you take me as University level work experience which is similar, but, has different connotations and may elicit different expectations on your team regarding my abilities. As work experience, I would not have graduated yet, so, your employees might think they can abuse me. Either way has worked well for us in the past, right?" She turned to look at her Godparents, hoping that they had caught on to what she was trying to do. Elsie took the bait.

"Yes, Mr. Bates. Anna is old enough and has graduated, but she looks young enough to pull off any scenario you choose. She performs well as your inside resource, while Mr. Carson and I perform all of the outside surveillance. In addition, we have another resource, Joseph Molesley, a computer expert, who works with us on an ad hoc basis. He can do any sort of online data tracking that is required. He can hack into most computers and websites without people every finding out he was there. You get all four of us for the price of one. We simply roll the costs of the internship into our final price for our services."

Elsie actually managed the finances of the company and new exactly how much she would need to charge him. He looked almost convinced. Her tactic seemed to have worked.

"What about your success rate? Can I really be sure that we will have the outcome I need?"

Charles spoke up again, tired in this occasion of having Anna and Elsie speaking over him. This new Premium package that Anna had concocted was very new to them, but the client was very pleased. He was actually proud of Anna for stepping in and providing this alternative that he would have never offered on his own.

"I cannot guarantee that we will find the proof. What I can guarantee is that you are dealing with a professional group of people who will work tirelessly to achieve your goals. The fact that you cannot see us as private investigators is our advantage, because nobody ever suspects us. Anna is a graduate of Warwick University, and achieved exemplary scores on all her tests. She is bright, and organized and full of ideas and will even help you in your actual company. Her credentials are unimpeachable. To the untrained eye, Mrs. Carson and I are just a pair of old timers who probably got lost on their way to the local Community Center. That is how we operate. We have been doing this for almost twenty years and I can tell you this. Those who have something to hide will inevitably make a mistake and we will be there to catch them. All we need is time and patience. If you want this to happen in a day, you will be disappointed. It may take weeks for the mistake to be made, so, what we really need to know is how willing are you to get it right? How patient will you be?"

For the first time since she met him that evening, she finally saw John smile. He looked happy.

"I have all the time in the world. Let's do this."

* * *

**A/N: This story will use some aviation terminology. My significant other is a pilot and he has provided insight. This story will have a great deal of legal terminology and situations as well. That is not my background. I will do my best to make everything sound legitimate and will investigate as much as I can to make this sound realistic, but, I may take some "legal" liberties, since I am not trying to write Pulitzer quality material. It is hard enough for me to understand the legal system in the US, so, trying to understand the English system would take more hours than I can actually put into the story. I would rather write it well than research for 100% legal accuracy. So, will you give me a pass?**

**Also, the Anna sparkplug bit is inspired by a scene from another popular series. Anybody care to guess?**

**Let me know what you think?**


	2. Welcome to Bates Airlift

**Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows!**

**This is very Anna-centric as we introduce her to most of the employees of the company and Vera. No Chelsie in this one. Not much happens, but it is a necessary chapter to introduce all the players.**

* * *

After their meeting with John Bates, Anna felt on top of the world. It wasn't the most conventional way to get a position, and it wasn't even a position, but she needed something positive in her CV, anything different. John had decided for the Internship, that which would give Anna the most credibility and the ability to actually move around the office. This was just the thing that could help her. Most interviewers didn't value her licensed Private Investigator credentials and they mistook her for the type of potential employee who would unearth every dirty little secret within their corporation or small business. This then, was a dream come true. Even if the case was over quickly and they managed to provide him with the proof he needed, she would convince him that she was worth keeping a few months. Beyond her investigative duties, she did want to learn and help his business.

They had met him once more a few days later, when he was sure he could get away without suspicion, and he provided the most recent picture of Vera, the registration of their vehicles, a list of properties they owned and a list of every employee that worked for him. Of course, Molesley had already done a basic background search for them, but it helped to verify that their client was being truthful with them too. His information provided seemed to match. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and was 44. She was surprised he was Irish. She had not picked up on that yet. Anna read his dossier several times; maybe too many times to be considered normal. There was something about him that was very interesting and she didn't know what it was.

Mr. Bates had also detailed for Anna the conditions of the internship. He had done his homework in the office, concocting a story about wanting to help the community by hosting an internship. He had argued that it would help them immensely, and the reasonable low cost was outweighed by the benefits. He also insisted that too much local talent ended up in London or Manchester, as Yorkshire did not offer enough career opportunities for talented graduates. His Controller, Anthony Strallan, signed off immediately. Vera had laughed at his proposal, arguing that he had never cared about his community before, but in the end, she signed off as well. IT meant she could pass on some of her tasks to somebody else. He had managed to make it as official as possible, even registering her with an Internship organization, that even Anna knew nothing about. He wanted to elicit no suspicion at all. If somebody asked him where Anna came from, he wanted to be able to say that she was sent by "Internships UK" and not somebody he had met at a pub. They also agreed to pretend they had never met before.

Thus, everything set and ready and today was her first day. She drove to work in her used car and prayed that it would get her safely to her destination in one piece. She was sentimental in keeping it, as it had belonged to her mother and it was now well over twenty years old. In the last couple of years, she had been stranded at least a couple of times in the middle of the road. It had not occurred to her that she ought to get a new one, as when she was out working as a PI, she was either using one of the company's vehicles or either with Pops or Elsie. She realized that she would need to get a new car soon, especially if this opportunity panned out.

She turned off the road in Elvington, on the Southeastern outskirts of York and came upon a large compound, positioned close to a rural landing strip that played host to the private aviation of the region. A huge sign "Bates Airlift Inc." hung on the fence, heralding that she was in the right place. She drove through the gates and pulled into an open parking space. She breathed in, deeply, willing herself to remain calm. She had a lot to accomplish and she needed her composure. She checked her mini voice recorder and positioned it inside her blazer pocket. She clicked it on and off to make sure it worked. It was voice activated and she never did a job without it. When she was ready, she stepped out and surveyed what was before her. A modern, yet small building which appeared to be the central offices, a large airfield, or landing strip behind it and a rather large hangar on the opposite side of the field. She visualized three different sized helicopters ensconced within. This was exciting. She had never been in a helicopter before and hoped that as part of her internship; maybe Mr. Bates would be willing to let her ride along somewhere.

She made her way diligently through the glass doors and stopped at the receptionist window. There were a couple of comfortable chairs and plants in this segregated area. The window was part of a wall that separated the entryway from the rest of the office space. There was a key code at the door, probably for security reasons. She greeted the pretty, ginger haired girl.

"Good Morning. I'm Anna Smith. I am reporting to work in an Internship."

The girl looked her up and down and for a moment, Anna thought that she was being scrutinized negatively, until a second later, the young lady smiled, offered her hand in greeting and said some words herself.

"Good Morning Anna. I am Gwen, the administrative assistant. Mr. Bates told me you would be coming."

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. Gwen's welcoming smile made her feel at ease instantly. Ever working, her mind went through the employee roster she had memorized before coming to work. This was DAWSON, Gwen – Staff Assistant. She seemed like a nice girl.

"Come through, I'll tell you where to put your things. It's still a little early and none of the Managers are here yet, but, they shouldn't be too long." The door buzzed and Anna pushed in.

Anna looked at her watch. It was 9:00am exactly. She needed to observe as much as she could. The offices were serenely quiet, but she did here distant typing on at least two keyboards. There were others working.

"Are you local?" Anna was startled by the question. "Local?" she responded back. Gwen was leading her within, towards a desk in the corner.

"Yes, are you a Yorkshire girl, or have you moved down from London, or elsewhere, for this?"

"Local – Ripon born and bred." She smiled and Gwen smiled back. "I'm glad. I'm a Yorkshire girl too - from Scarborough, but I did move for this job, although much good that's done."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been a staff assistant for a while now, but can't seem to move up. I really want to go into Sales. But, don't mind me. That's a story for another day. Today is about settling you in."

Gwen opened the top desk drawer and fished out a set of keys.

"This will be your desk for the time being. I checked your computer yesterday and it works fine…. As does your phone. I've printed all of the internal phone extensions for you to use and highlighted mine. Email addresses are also listed. This is your email and the instructions to access your account are here." She paused after her lengthy speech and handed the sheets over to Anna, adding, "You can keep your handbag in the large drawer. That's what I do."

Anna sat down in the chair for a moment. It was a glorious feeling. There was nothing grandiose about this desk, it actually looked a wee battered, but it was hers. She put her handbag away before Gwen caught on to her excitement. Snatching her mobile before closing the drawer, she turned again to look at Gwen. It seemed the redhead was reading her mind, because before she could even ask, her internal questions were answered.

"You're supposed to be with me this week, Mr. Bates told me as much, but I am sure that he wants to give you a proper presentation. There is a staff meeting called for 9:30am in the conference room. In the meantime, I'm desperate for some tea. Want to join me?"

* * *

Anna sat in sturdy chair, facing Mr. Bates, a few minutes later. He'd come in while Gwen and Anna were preparing their beverages and summoned them to his office.

He had gentleness about him, one that Anna had not picked up on while they were sitting in the cramped pub space. During those encounters, he was fidgety and nervous, not comfortable in his surroundings. Here, he seemed at peace. His space was austere, no fancy decorations or ostentatious artwork clamoring for attention. He had some framed pictures on one wall, she couldn't quite see what they were about, and some art prints depicting helicopters. He had plastic models on his desk, of two different types of helicopter, but that was it. The fanciest thing in his office was his chair. It was tall, black leather, and very imposing. If not for the chair, Anna would not have guessed that this was the office of the owner. It was so low key, that it gave her a sense of Mr. Bates' roots being humble. She'd have to ask him one day.

His clothing was also different. Instead of the "Top Gun" persona who had greeted her the previous two times, he was wearing tan slacks, a white shirt with no tie, and a dark blue blazer. He did look quite businesslike and that was a surprise. She liked it, though. As the owner, she thought he could afford to be more relaxed if he wanted. Whatever his reasoning, she had to admit that he cleaned up very nicely. She had not noticed that he had a hazel eye color. Now that she knew his origins, she listened intently and did see that certain words had an Irish lilt in them. All in all, he was quite captivating.

"Gwen, Ms. Smith and I will be along to the conference room in a few minutes. Can you make sure everybody's there?" Gwen nodded and went on her way.

He turned to look at Anna. In the light of day, with the sun streaming through the windows, she looked very pretty. He'd only seen her at night and he couldn't realize in the darkness of the pub how cerulean blue her eyes were. For whatever time she was meant to be here, she would definitely make this a good looking place. She was smartly dressed again too. A black pencil skirt, with a white top and a fitted red blazer made her look very chic. Her signature hairdo, all pulled back in a bun, made her look like she meant business. He was pleased. They might have a chance of pulling off this ruse. Anna was doing her part to play her role well, even the hint of excitement that was coming through. That was appropriate. He guessed interns would be excited on their first day. To manifest even the proper emotions impressed him. She might be better at this than he thought.

"I trust things have gone well this morning? No problem with Parking, Gwen settling you in?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"Good, Ms. Smith. I want you to be comfortable while you are here."

"Thank you Mr. Bates, but, unless you call everybody by their last names, I suggest you call me Anna." He had just called Gwen by her first name, so, she knew that was the right way to go about it. "...and I will call you Mr. Bates, like everybody else does."

He nodded his head in acceptance. What she was saying was reasonable.

They had agreed to not say anything at all about the case inside the office, so, they limited their discussion to the mock internship that they had set up.

"We'll have a staff meeting and I will introduce you to everybody. After the staff meeting, you will spend the week with Gwen. She'll explain her duties and you'll learn everything she does. I have set up a rotation on how you will spend the next six weeks. Since we have six months to fill, we are going to go easy. At the end of those six weeks, we will plan for the next six and so on. Do you agree?"

"Yes, Mr. Bates." She took the document that he had prepared and looked it over. She was pleased. "I look forward to working here and learning your business."

He looked nervous but acknowledged her words.

"Right. Let's get a move on." He gestured for her to follow him and soon enough, she found herself in the conference room, where ten to twelve faces greeted her. It was a little overwhelming, but, she managed to keep her wits about her.

"Everyone here Gwen?"

"Everyone but Mrs. Bates, sir. She's not arrived yet."

Mmmm, thought Anna. _They lived together, but didn't drive in together_? How weird. That lent the truth to what Mr. Bates said. Vera often stayed late. To do that, she must come and go on her own.

"We'll go ahead then." He gestured to Anna to sit and they both took the two empty spots at the head of the conference table.

"Team, this is Anna Smith. Starting today, she will be with us for six months. Bates Airlift Inc. Has partnered with Internships UK to provide development opportunities for University Graduates. Anna will be our first intern."

Anna heard a couple of snickers, but Mr., Bates said nothing and continued.

"What that means, for those of you who are wondering…. Anna will rotate in all of our departments and work with all of you to learn what you do. An internship does not mean that she will do your work for you or that you will hand over the most menial of your tasks. She's not your maid either. She's not here to get you coffee or tea. She's not here to clean your desk. When she rotates in your department, she will share all of your tasks, both the boring and interesting ones. I will be monitoring her progress and will be working with her. I will be involved."

Anna observed the faces of everybody while Mr. Bates spoke. There were some upturned lips, but in general, everybody was taking in his words. She had to admit that she was impressed with the way he commanded their attention. That must have been his military side, although he was not militant at all.

"Any questions?"

"When will she be interning with me?" a young lad asked in the most audacious and sexy voice, getting a laugh from everyone. Anna felt uncomfortable at the way he looked at her.

"James, and this goes for everyone, you will kindly respect Ms. Smith."

Anna registered – KENT, James – Pilot, from the list. She put him down as a flirt in her mind. She could deal with him. She wondered if he had ever encountered the wrong end of a tazer before. Maybe she should do womankind a favor and introduce him to it.

"I will not tolerate any reports of misconduct or abuse towards anybody in this office. Do you understand?"

James sheepishly nodded his head.

"All right. Now down to business. Gwen, what is the first item on the agenda?"

* * *

The meeting had been interesting. Besides learning about the business, she was learning about who every person present was. The Finance Manager, or Controller, as Mr. Bates called him, Anthony Strallan, gave an update of the revenue results for the month. He seemed introverted and lived up to Anna's stereotype of what an Accountant should look like. He had a pile of reports, thick glasses and wore a tie that looked like it belonged in the eighties. His hair had not been trimmed in a while and was badly combed, but he knew what he was talking about.

Another chap, she recognized as being Irish from his accent, explained the maintenance rota for the month and that "Sophia" would be out of commission for a week. She thought it was sweet that the choppers had names. They all seemed to be women too – Brigitte, Audrey, Ava and Sophia – were the ones she heard. Taking advantage of a lull in bookings, and rearranging flight schedules for the week, she would undergo an engine overhaul to make sure she had no stress fractures or issues. He wore a blue zip-up pantsuit, with his name embroidered on a patch, "Tom". While there were two Toms on the list, undoubtedly, this was BRANSON, Thomas – Head Mechanic. Twice, when their line of vision crossed, he had smiled amiably at her. There was a very positive vibe about him and he spoke about the choppers as if he revered them.

The meeting continued with a woman talking about what was booked for the week. Anna surmised she must be O'BRIEN, Sarah – Scheduling and Logistics. She was one of the people who had snickered when Mr. Bates introduced her and had kept an upturned lip. Anna could not gauge much about her yet, except that she was middle aged and had no ring on her finger. Her make-up was overdone – too much eye shadow and the hue on her lips/cheeks were mismatched. Not that it was important, but she looked tacky. When she spoke, she chose to use every day vernacular which was unpolished. Anna certainly hoped she wasn't the one talking to the clients.

The meeting ended with a tall and handsome man that Anna guessed was the Sales Manager – CARLISLE, Richard. HE was a sharp dresser, in contrast to Ms. O'Brien. His shirt was nicely starched, and although he had removed his blazer, it looked expensively tailored. He mentioned that he was on the trail of a new client, CONOCO EXPLORATIONS, one that could generate many bookings; perhaps even requiring the lease of another helicopter. Mr. Bates looked pleased. To seal the deal, he would be heading to the Oil and Gas IP Summit held in London in the next three weeks.

Gwen added a new item, telling Mr. Bates that Mr. Edmunds of the Make a Wish Foundation wanted another meeting with him, with another potential case. He smiled and asked her to contact him as soon as possible.

There were others present, but they contributed nothing to the meeting and it was adjourned about an hour after it started.

As the employees dispersed and they made their way out of the conference room, Gwen turned to her. "Fancy a tour now?"

* * *

"You have a golf cart as transportation?" Anna was impressed as Gwen positioned herself behind the wheel.

"We do. Besides being the administrative assistant, I play concierge to any customers who arrive at our office for transport. "She backed out of the spot where it was parked and turned into the airfield. "Sometimes, I drive them to board the helicopter wherever it is parked on the tarmac. Believe me, when they have luggage, you want to use the cart." Anna surveyed the panorama around her. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. This was thrilling.

"Mmmm….but, I thought you picked up customers on rooftops or open fields and such. You handle customers here too?"

"Depending on the type of mission, or aircraft used, we can do several things. We do two main types of transport – Executive, where as you state, we can pick somebody up off of a building rooftop that has a heliport, but sometimes, the buildings are too archaic, and could be structurally compromised. We can pick them up in a field, or if they prefer, drive here if they are locals. We set it up to where it is most convenient for the customer. They usually require that we fly them to Leeds, Manchester and on occasion London, which we try to stay away from. Bates Airlift's success stems from the targeting of middle sized companies in the North East of England. London is oversaturated with providers, while this market is underserved."

"Mmmmm" mused Anna. That made sense. Gwen had made it across the airfield and was nearing the hangar. She could see Tom, already on a ladder, starting to fidget with the blades of a very large chopper.

"The other type of transport we do is moving people and equipment from the mainland to any one of the oil platforms out in the North Sea."

Anna looked confused. Gwen explained further.

"Basically, there are sixty two oil platforms in the North Sea, operated by several oil and natural gas companies. British Petroleum is the biggest operator and they own at least 33. The others are divided among the other Energy conglomerates of the world. Their staff lives and work on these rigs, but they rotate in and out after several weeks. They need provisions, parts and management visits. BP, owning so many, has their own fleet, but the others cannot afford to keep a fleet operation here, thus, they outsource to us. Our biggest machines, Sophia and Grace, are constantly doing these long haul trips and they can seat up to 19 persons and carry a load of many thousands of kilos. When we do those services, the oil rig staff either comes here, or they can choose to be picked up in a small compound Mr. Bates owns on the coast in Bridlington before they set off. It's the same on the way back. They can either get off on the coast, in case they live close by, or they can come here to York, where they can be picked up by their families or take a train from York anywhere in the country. "

They had pulled up right beside Tom who had heard part of Gwen's explanation and acknowledged their arrival by joining the conversation.

"These beauties work impressively. They give a lot and that is why I am pampering Sophia today."

"Sophia? Did you name them?" Anna grinned at the mention of the monikers.

"Oh, no… that would be the boss. He is very particular about what name he gives these beauties." He reached out to give Anna his hand. "I'm Tom Branson, Chief Mechanic and Avionics expert. My assistant mechanic and fueling expert, William Mason is on holiday, but, anything that William and I can help you with, just let us know."

She took in his firm handshake and realized there was nothing tentative or deceitful in his approach. He seemed very genuine. He was very handsome. _Might he be Vera's type_?

"Thank you Tom. How kind….So….. How many of these beauties are we actually talking about? How large is our fleet?"

"Well, let's see…Two Bell412's, two Sikorsky 92's, and two McDonnell Douglas 600N's equal six working aircraft plus Maggie there in the corner." He pointed at the smallest helicopter, sitting in its own bay. It was bright blue with golden zig-zag stripes emblazoned on the sides and it did not look very Executive at all. There wasn't room for more than the pilot and maybe a passenger or two. "She belongs to the boss."

"I see, and what are all their names?"

He then turned and pointed at the other aircraft sitting in the field. "That is Ava. This is Sophia. Out in service we have Audrey, Grace, Brigitte and Marilyn."

"Mmmmm" The whole thing sounded like a Hollywood lineup from the 1950's. Audrey must be Hepburn, Grace must be Kelly, Marilyn must be Monroe, etc. She just couldn't place the name Maggie. She would have to work on figuring that one out.

"Do you want to take a peek inside?" gestured the redhead as she pulled open the door and released the integrated steps that allowed them to board. Anna wanted to, so, she followed Gwen inside while Tom continued working on the rotor mechanisms on top.

"This is so nice," murmured Anna as she sat in one of the leather seats. Gwen took the opportunity to explain that while the majority of their bookings were Executive or oil rig transport, they did often reconfigure seats for whatever purpose was needed. "Look at this." She dislodged a mechanism on the side and a moved a seat back a few inches off of the tracks that supported it. "If we removed all of these seats, we could reconfigure this for medical evacuation and bring in a gurney.

Anna was impressed yet again.

"There are companies that specialize in this, but we specialize in oil rigs and we've had to bring sick people out before. This is just to explain to you, that there really is no limit to the things we can transport."

Before too long, they were back in the golf cart, and driving around the perimeter of the field, Gwen explaining where they stored their fuel, showing her the satellite dishes they used to collect weather information and so many other things. She couldn't imagine if they had walked around this concrete perimeter. In her high heels, her feet would have given up by now. She thanked God for the golf cart.

* * *

On their way back, Gwen took her to the crew rest area, adjacent to the customer waiting room. That's when she finally saw her target. Vera. It had to be her.

She was a mature woman, but very beguiling. She had jet long black hair, an ivory complexion and the most beautiful blue eyes Anna had seen. Her lips were full and red. Anna had seen the images that Mr. Bates had provided, but Vera was more beautiful in person than what her picture reflected. There was no need to compare, but Anna felt her own beauty inferior to that of this woman. She immediately thought of Mr. Bates. No wonder he had spent 18 years with her. Men wouldn't be able to turn their eyes away. That was the case now. The very unaware co-owner had her arms wrapped around James, while another young man looked on. Both young men were mesmerized, enough that they did not see Anna and Gwen come in.

"Mrs. Bates," called Gwen.

The woman turned to face them. "This is Anna Smith, the new Intern."

She unwrapped her arms from James' body and turned to look fully at her.

"So, you're Anna." She looked her up and down, something Anna was not prepared for. Vera had a haughty attitude, almost dismissive of her.

She turned to leave, not before adding. "I should have known you weren't picked for your capabilities." Without a second glance, she walked away.

_What was that?_ Anna was fuming internally, but managed to keep composure. It helped that Gwen squeezed her arm as a sign of support. She wouldn't have said anything; she was not going to put her position in jeopardy because of this woman. She needed to be here. Yet, she had doubted John Bates when he spoke of his wife as being manipulative and treacherous. Most of their clients exaggerated the faults or virtues of their partner and she had learned to take their words with caution and never believe their stories 100%. She had never been drawn in to anybody's story of woes, but there was something about John Bates that made her empathize with him. He had resisted speaking more about her and she could see he was a gentleman. Also, she never considered herself beautiful. She was comfortable in her own skin, but always managed to believe her pale skin made her a little plain. Thus, Vera's insinuation that she got on because of her looks was a great surprise.

She was brought out of her thinking by James.

"Hello Anna."

Again with the flirty voice. He seconded Vera's actions and looked her up and down as if she was a piece of meat_. What was it with these people and their rude introductions?_

"Oh, just ignore him. No offense, but he does that to all the women." Anna wasn't sure if the young man's attempt to diffuse the situation was hurting her ego or not. She did not want that type of attention, not after what Vera had just said. The young man stretched out his arms and looked like he meant no harm, so she took it.

"Alfred Nugent. You're Anna right?"

"Yes, Alfred. Pleased to meet you." James put out his hand also. "I'm James, but you already know that. You can call me Jimmy." Anna took his hand too. She needed to learn about all of them. She couldn't play the offended card.

She looked around. This was definitely a Pilot's lair. There were large screens adorning the room with live weather feeds from all over the United Kingdom. An open microphone squawked what appeared to be messages from a control tower. There was equipment Anna couldn't place. Detailed navigation maps adorned the walls. Big comfortable chairs dotted the room.

As far as she remembered, there were seven pilots on the list. There were five others unaccounted for. Somebody in this office had to be Vera's lover.

"Well, you know I'm new here and I don't know much about anything. What can you tell me about your group?"

Alfred chimed in.

"Jack Ross is off today. Daisy Robinson, Evelyn Napier, Tony Gillingham and Michael Gregson are currently on missions. I have a York-Leeds service in about an hour and Jimmy here," he patted James back forcefully, "he is on call, in case something comes up."

"Have you been here long?"

"I've been here for about a year. Daisy and I were hired at the same time." Alfred answered truthfully but her mind wandered. She was pleased that they had a female pilot among their ranks. It had nothing to do with the case, but it spoke well of Bates Airlift's attempt at gender equality. She wanted to meet this intrepid woman as soon as possible.

"I've been here for six months," explained Jimmy. "The others have been here longer. Michael is the Chief Pilot, he has been here the longest and after the boss, he has the most flight hours. He's pretty good and flies our most challenging missions. He is followed by Evelyn. Both these guys can land on moving oil rigs, in the ocean, during bad weather with full loads."

"Sounds fascinating." She was impressed, but her mind wandered again. Vera wouldn't be too obvious. Just because she was hanging on to Jimmy, meant nothing. In fact, she was almost too sure it wasn't him. He was trying too hard to be macho, to be seen as a ladies man. Anna would bet he was a closeted homosexual. There was something about him that just wasn't natural in his attitude. Alfred didn't look like the obvious choice either. He was looking at Vera with puppy dog eyes when they came in. Worse – like a puppy in a puddle. She was sure he was sweet on her, but Vera would not risk a liaison with somebody who she couldn't trust.

She focused again on the conversation.

"Jack and Tony have been here about three years each and they are being trained for the overseas flights as well. That's all of us. I think Daisy is due back in a few hours. She left at 7:00am on an emergency run to pick up some organs in Sheffield needed for transplant in Manchester. She radioed earlier that she was on her way back."

They showed her around, taking her to their locker rooms, complete with a couple of private shower stalls. The men explaining that they often did back to back missions, sometimes they were rained on, other times they helped with the inspection and airworthiness check of the helicopters in the hangar, leaving them sweaty. They always needed to look neat and professional for their clients. They also had a quiet rest area, sectioned off. There were reclineable loungers and no windows, for a darker, restful place. Some missions were exhausting and they needed power naps to stay alert. Gwen advised her that now and then, everybody in the office had made use of them and assured her that before her six months were over, she would be there too.

* * *

"It's about time your back," exclaimed the woman Anna recognized as Sarah. She was curt and biting.

"Sarah, it's only been an hour. I appreciate you answering the phones for me. Anything important I should know?" Gwen was very pleasant about it. The girl did have tough skin if she had to deal with the likes of this women so often.

"All I did was answer your phones. I couldn't get any of my own work done. Thankfully, now you have her." Sarah gestured by tilting her head in Anna's direction.

Anna thought it was her cue to introduce herself formally.

"Yes, I will be helping Gwen this week. I'm Anna. So, you're Sarah?"

Anna put out her hand and Sarah shook it reluctantly.

"Yes, I am. Now, can you get back to work?"

"Just give us ten minutes. I need to introduce her to Accounting." Gwen pulled Anna and started walking before Sarah could object.

She rolled her eyes and sighed audibly.

"Fine. Be quick about it." As an afterthought, she added, "Oh, and I patched Mr. Edmunds of Make a Wish through to Mr. Bates. You don't need to call him anymore."

* * *

"I am very pleased, so very pleased indeed. I am as happy as a bee in a flower patch. No, that doesn't make sense. How about as happy as a bear in a bee hive? Wait, do bears like honey or is that a Winnie the Pooh myth? You do know Winnie the Pooh, right? Or is he before your time? You are so young, all of you. Oh, bother! I'm just happy. I believe, no doubt, you will be an asset to this company. John was very excited about getting an intern and I must agree with him. We could certainly use the help. You wouldn't know it but, we are certainly understaffed here in the back office. I keep telling the Bates's to hire somebody else, but, Mrs. Bates doesn't want anybody new. I don't understand why, as it would only be good for the business, there is plenty of revenue to fund it, so you here makes me happy… Very happy…. I tell you, this is something good for you to be here."

Anthony Strallan looked very positive, but, he could not stop talking. She could hardly get a word in edgewise. Half of what he spoke did not make sense at all.

"Gwen, have you introduced the rest of my team?" Gwen didn't get a word in either. She attempted to respond, but he answered for her. "No, you haven't, I am sure. You've probably already gone to the hangar and crew room, but not Accounting. We are usually last on the list, the least sexiest department, but, I don't mind. We can introduce you now."

Without saying another word, he walked out. Gwen smiled at Anna, trying to suppress a giggle. _Least sexiest department? _Anna couldn't help but giggle silently too. Anthony Strallan was an endearing man who had a mind of his own. _Could he be the type to fall prey to Vera_? Maybe. She'd have to see them together to reason this out.

"Come now ladies," came his voice across the hallway. There she encountered two more employees from the list. She immediately knew that they would be BAXTER, Phyllis and BARROW, Thomas – both listed as Accounting.

"Team, this is Anna, who you saw at today's staff meeting. This is Phyllis." He pointed at a quiet lady in the corner. "She maintains our spare parts Inventory, she is our purchasing agent, and she is also accounts receivable." The woman was very quiet and meek, but she smiled graciously at Anna before getting back to work.

"Pleased to meet you, Phyllis." The woman looked up again and smiled graciously, but said nothing. Anna thought that was odd. She wasn't rude, just maybe introverted?

"…and this here is Thomas. He manages our bank accounts, generates payroll, and does accounts payable."

Thomas was more affable. He stood up, offered his hand and uttered a quick "Pleased to meet you Anna," before turning his eyes to look back at his computer. Phyllis had been meek, but Thomas looked more ambivalent. He didn't acknowledge her again even while Anthony continued to talk without end.

"I oversee them both, but, I also do the assessment of profitability in our contracts, I provide analysis, revenue projections, and so many other things. You'll get to see all of it when you rotate in our area. Mr. Bates sent us the schedule, but, I have not looked at it yet, so, I do not know when it will be your turn, but, I look forward to having you work with us. Do you agree, team?"

Both Phyllis and Thomas looked up, said "Yes", and then looked back down again.

* * *

Anna fell onto the sofa the minute she walked into her flat. She lied down along the length of it and let her legs hang over the edge, dangling her shoes until they fell off of her feet.

"You look tired," offered Mary who came out of her room to investigate.

"I am tired." Anna pulled herself up to rest on her elbows, able to see Mary much better from this angle. "….Tired, but, very, very happy."

* * *

**A/N: There you have it! Now you know all of the staff. In the next chapter, the investigation starts! Tell me what you think?**

**To LC - I hope to do Chelsie justice in this story and thank you for reading!**


	3. Cue in the Carsons

**Cue in the Carsons…..**

* * *

"Is this the car?" Elsie looked around to make sure nobody was standing close to them.

They were wearing their usual matching street outfit for this part of town, something similar to what they donned when they met John Bates. The only difference was she was sporting a grey wig, making her look older than she was, and he, although he had a head of hair to be proud of at his age, a very tacky and misaligned hairpiece. They had realized, through the years, that they usually only needed something small to alter their appearance. Certain things made sense in certain areas and when their geography changed, so did they. The trunk of their car and their full service surveillance van was full of accessories. The average person didn't pay attention when they were out and about and nobody focused on them enough to determine if they were out of place or doing something inappropriate. It didn't take much to carry out their tasks. All it took was confidence; to give the feeling that they belonged and that they were doing no wrong. It certainly helped that there were stereotypes regarding people of their age. They played into those expectations as often as they could. Today would be no exception.

"Why do you even ask? Have we not followed it for the last two days to this coffee shop?" Charles asked in a low tone, making sure that nobody could hear him.

They had followed Vera from the Bates' residence to this coffee house for two days. It was the start of a pattern they had detected. They would never tamper with the cars in proximity to the Bates' residence, as they could not afford to be seen so close to those quarters. Neither would they get close to the Bates Airlift compound. That was Anna's territory to control. Instead, they took much of their required steps out in the open – on city streets. They knew most of Yorkshire like the palm of their hands. They were not limited to Ripon or York. They had worked as far north as Darlington, as far east as Scarborough, down South to Leeds and west to Blackburn. It was a very generous territory, and they blended into the background perfectly. To the untrained eye, they were just another set of pensioners out for a stroll.

As Vera had parked to get her daily caffeine dose, it was their time to move. This time, they didn't even follow her from home. They parked around the corner from her expected destination and waited. As predicted, she drove up.

"You silly man. Yes, I know this is the car. I am being extra sure."

She paused, then reacted quickly, ordering him about.

"Do it quickly. Do it now."

They followed their usual trick. He bent to tie his shoe lace and used the hood of the car for support. Elsie blocked the view from the coffee shop windows. To anybody, it looked like she was supporting her husband who had bent down. In an instant, Pops slipped the GPS device into the rim above the wheel well and it automatically adhered to the inside on account of the magnet that was part of the whole ensemble. He did a good job of placement, as it was not visible at all.

"Ohhhhh," he grumbled when he was trying to get up and Elsie took his arm. "My knee….. ahhhhh." It was all a part of their act. He put his hand on the hood of the car, solidifying their need to be there.

"Are you in pain love?" Elsie asked loudly as she put his arm around her to help bring him up.

"Oh, just give me a minute and I'll be ship shape." He turned to gaze into her eyes. "You're such a doll to your old husband."

Elsie continued to block the view as he grumbled loudly and acted accordingly. Soon his body was upright.

"Oh, never mind love. Who else would help you, if not I?"

He limped forward with his wife next to him. As soon as they reached the corner, they disengaged themselves and moved at a faster pace until they were safely stowed within their car. They turned it on and went home. Vera was going to work. Now was not the time to track her. They would wait a few hours.

* * *

Anna pulled into an available spot just as John Bates was parking himself. She had chosen to come early to get a better understanding of the office space and wanted nobody around to do this. It was a surprise, then, to see him pulling into the compound. It was 7:30am. He'd been arriving to the office at a quarter after nine every day. He wasn't supposed to be there, at least not that early.

He was handsome. That was the first thing she noticed as he stepped out of his car. It was chilly this morning and he had donned a black overcoat. He looked like such a gentleman. Then she noticed he walked with a swagger. _Wow. That was sexy,_ she thought. It made him look very confident as he made his way towards her. He was gallant and that left her momentarily confused. She had butterflies in her stomach…._But why?_ He was just a client, she shouldn't be nervous. She had spoken to clients a million times. _What was wrong with her?_

"How are you getting on?" was what came from him the moment they stood facing each other, close to the office entry. They both hesitated to go inside, knowing that they wouldn't be able to talk as freely.

She snapped out of her muddled state in time to answer him. "Good, so far. I came early to do some reconnaissance. I didn't think there would be anybody else here."

He looked interested, yet not quite knowing what that was she meant in terms of private investigations. He'd only used the word during the war, and it seemed too bellicose a concept to introduce into their conversation. "Reconnaissance?" he repeated.

"….Just getting a better feel for all of the nooks and crannies in your office space and see if there aren't any surprises. Sort of like a security sweep. I'll be doing them regularly until the investigation is concluded. We want to be sure Vera doesn't suspect anything, and knowing everything about your offices will come in handy. I want to know what I am working with and I'll soon have my short-list compiled."

He generated a small smirk on his lips that was very endearing to Anna.

"I am sure that sooner or later I'll understand all your jargon, as I am sure you'll understand ours. Please do tell me – What do you mean by short-list?" His smile was too infectious to ignore. She responded in kind with a giggle.

Oh God, she thought to herself. Did that come out as a normal laugh or did she do a flirty laugh? She wanted him to take her seriously as both a Private Investigator and employee. Him seeing her as a flirt would not do. She composed herself to answer him.

"We'll be looking at everybody, of course, but we can't do full surveillance on the entire male staff at the same time. In a few days, I will have a list of the most likely candidates. My associates are implanting a GPS tag on Vera today, so, once I have set the short list, we will be attacking from both ends."

He looked very pleased, but his face grew dim in an instant.

"You've met her, I reckon."

"Yes, and she was dismissive of me and a little rude, if I'm honest." She didn't want to offend him, but she did roll her eyes. "….. that is a really good thing. That means, as far as I am concerned, that she has no idea."

His demeanor grew a little sad.

"I need this to work. I can't take much more of her." There was something in his eyes that pulled her in. She felt for him. It was raw truth what he was saying. He was in pain. Without thinking much, she found herself reaching out to touch his arm. She squeezed reassuringly.

"We will Mr. Bates. If there is something to find, we will find it."

He smiled, her heartfelt encouragement doing the trick. Without thinking much, he put his hand on top of hers.

They had shaken hands before, at the pub, but it was all very businesslike. Both Pops and Elsie were there too, but right now, Anna could not understand why his hand on her was causing palpitations in her chest. She saw him react to something as well and he pulled away.

Shaken by their contact, she moved forward and concluded their conversation.

I'll suggest we meet at the pub in a couple of days for us to report back our initial findings. I'll let you know when. It's still early days, but we want to keep you informed."

"Excellent."

* * *

John Bates closed the door to his office, sat down in his chair and put his head between his hands. Buggar! Buggar! Buggar! He chanted to himself over and over. It was very inconvenient to have this feeling overcome him. Anna Smith, whom he had only met recently, had touched him most innocently and when she did, his heart almost stopped. There was something about her. Something he could not explain. He had had 18 years of miserable marriage, yet he had not turned around to look at another woman during this time frame. She was the first that had inspired any sort of feelings at all. _But what were they? ….Gratitude for what she was doing? ….Hope maybe, as a promise of a better future for him? or god forbid, lust? _He groaned loudly at the thought of the last one. He was so close to terminating his marriage to Vera in the most legally sound manner. He could not let anything get in the way. He would have to work extra hard to make sure that whatever this was, whatever feeling happened upon him – that it should vanish.

_What would she think of him? Could she tell that she had affected him?_ He asked those and other burning questions over and over. It was unbearable for the first hour that morning. When he started to hear the other employees arrive, he remembered what brought him so early to begin with. He had safety declarations to file with the Civil Aviation Authority. That was it… He would throw himself into his work just like he had done for the better part of two decades. Bates Airlift was his mistress and there was room for no other.

* * *

Anna walked as far into the office as possible, far enough that she knew he was nowhere near. In a small hidden corner, close to accounting, she put both hands against the closest filing cabinet to steady herself. She breathed in and out, trying to regulate her heart beat.

_What was that?_

_How could she have been that bold to laugh, then, touch him?_ If Pops knew about this, he would be upset. Rule #1 of their partnership was that you keep your distance and never get emotionally involved. The raw pain in his voice had moved her. This was not the time to be moved. She finally had what she wanted – a different type of investigation and the opportunity to do more with her life. She couldn't mess that up.

Whether it was his kind eyes, gentle commanding presence or that definite lust-inducing swagger, she needed to get a better hold of her actions. She could not allow these feelings to get in the way. He needed her more than ever.

Her morning exploratory mission was a success. She had kept away from the individual offices as they were all locked and concentrated on the public areas. She found no obvious devices and discovered a few premium locations where she could rig her own when the time came. Now that her work for Carson's Private Investigators was finished, it was time to start for Bates Airlift.

Internally, things had progressed with meeting the rest of the staff she had not encountered on Gwen's initial tour. Daisy, was younger than Anna would have expected, but not too young to not have the adequate credentials. She bypassed the traditional university or trade education and went to flight school as soon as she passed her A level exams. As a female pilot, she absolutely loved having Anna in the office, commenting that she lived in a world made of mostly men, so, she was thrilled to have more female company at Bates Airlift. She was a bit of a chatterbox and had let it slip that Sarah was always in a bad mood, Mrs. Bates never talked to any of the women except Sarah. Phyllis was nice, but you couldn't get her to talk unless it was absolutely necessary. She wasn't mean, just not communicative. Gwen was the only other female in the office that spoke to her, so, having a third girl, and all of about the same age made her very happy. Anna thought she was sweet, if a little bit outspoken, but most of all bold and ambitious to take on a career that few women ever ventured into.

The other men - Michael Gregson, Evelyn Napier and Jack Ross - she had met them as well. They were all pleasant. What astonished her was they were all so handsome. At some point, she thought it might be her mind playing tricks on her and that she should not uphold the myth that all men in uniform were gorgeous, but who was she kidding? They were. Their uniform was not even that becoming either. It was a tan, zippered jumpsuit with their names embroidered on the right hand side over their breast. Anna concluded that it must be their confident swagger as they walked about. Just like John Bates, they walked like they owned the world. It must have been a trait shared by the pilots, as no other male in the office did anything similar.

Through their conversation, she discovered that Michael and Evelyn were married and that Jack was American and engaged to be married to an English girlfriend. Still, attached or not, that meant nothing in terms of their character and anyone of them could be Vera's lover. With so many infidelity investigations under her belt, nobody knew better than she did. At the moment, they were all under suspicion.

She'd also had the opportunity to interact more with Richard Carlisle. Although she had met him briefly at their staff meeting, he had left immediately after to attend to some clients. He was very smooth and charming, but not overbearing. He had the right level of charisma needed for his job. He was rarely in the office, so she could not pick up any other "vibe" about him.

Anna had been working with Gwen during those days and investigation aside, she loved it. She couldn't begin to work on her case in earnest until she learned the ins and out of the business and she was trying her hardest to grasp everything quickly. While Gwen did not hold the most glamorous job, she had plenty to do and the days passed quickly. She handled all calls for both Mr. and Mrs. Bates, besides typing up letters and the basic administrative duties. Anna also understood Gwen's concierge role more clearly, as several clients had come, and she had helped escort them to the waiting area.

There was a finesse about her that made her perfect for a Sales type position. She was very outgoing, very competent and knowledgeable, she was impeccably groomed, all very professional and in good taste, and had phenomenal persuasive abilities. Just yesterday, one of their most important Executive clients, Mr. Wiggleton, a curmudgeon by all accounts, came and was annoyed that Daisy was not available to transport him. He bellowed, very upset, as he had clearly stated in his booking that he was flexible on his departure time as long as she was piloting the chopper. He was an older man, with a clear penchant for younger women. He had winked at Anna when they were introduced. Not that he would try anything, Gwen later told him he wasn't that type of a pervert. He just liked company of the female variety. It was a clear oversight of Sarah's as she had booked Daisy on another flight and she was not there that at the moment and could not be back for several hours. To diffuse the situation, she had gotten approval from Mr. Bates to offer him a discount on his next flight, and had even reassured him that Alfred, his booked pilot, was a fan of Leeds United, just like him. She knew that was one topic he could never get enough of. That appeased the man greatly. The last they saw of him and Alfred, they were boarding the chopper while they talked about MaCormack's goal from the previous game.

"You are so good, Gwen. I thought he would blow a gasket."

Gwen was embarrassed by the compliment, but Anna persisted.

"You should be in Sales, or somewhere with more responsibility."

Gwen sighed.

"That is my goal. I've asked Richard if he would allow me to either accompany him on a Sales call, or let me help in any of the conventions in which he participates, but he always tells me that I am more needed on the phones. To be honest, he is a bit of a misogynist. Thomas asked the same thing once and he had no problem taking him."

Anna didn't know how to respond, but she thought of how reasonable John Bates seemed to be. How could he have a female pilot in one department, but stunt the growth of a female in another? It didn't make sense.

"Have you talked to Mr. Bates? What does he have to say?"

"I spoke to him recently about my future here and he has told me that he will help me and that is part of the reason I am still here. I would have already left to look for another position with more potential, but he is a kind man to work for, and to be honest…. I like this company and aviation in general. I think I could do so much more if they would let me."

Anna thought this was the perfect way to ask her questions about Mr. Bates. She was forming a good opinion of him, but she still needed to be certain she was helping him for the right reasons. Even if he was paying for their services, and regardless of whatever feelings he was manifesting in her, she and the Carson's had always agreed that the moment they realized their customer was lying to them, or if there was anything suspicious about the information they were gathering, they would come together to discuss terminating their case. They had done it in the past a couple of times. No money was worth a guilty conscience. Most notable among those instances was a case where they discovered that a missing person they were searching for had put out, the last year, a restraining order for abuse from their client. They would not be a party for somebody's continued misfortune. Thus, she had to make sure that John Bates was who he said he was and that his allegations, as presented to her, were his motivators, and not anything else.

"You've been here two years, right?" Gwen nodded in agreement. "Almost three," she countered.

"Is Mr. Bates as nice as he seems? He comes across as very fair."

"He is very nice, and very generous. At Christmas, he gives us a very substantial year-end bonus. He says it is his appreciation for making the company what it is. I feel sorry for him sometimes, though."

She needed to steer the conversation to what she needed to know. She lowered her voice to a whisper. Even though they were separated from the rest of the staff, both Mr. and Mrs. Bates offices were in their general vicinity and it made no sense to be caught gossiping, and much less about either of them.

"Oh, really? Why is that? Is it because of Mrs. Bates? I don't know much about her, but, what I've seen the last two three days doesn't give me an awful good impression of her."

Gwen looked embarrassed, and Anna thought she was having misgivings about talking freely about her boss to somebody so new and unproven….. Because Anna had to admit, that she was still unfamiliar and relatively unknown. She hadn't proven herself as anything more than an eager new employee. It looked like Gwen was trying to determine whether she should be trusted. She needed to work on that.

"I'm sorry," concluded Anna, but still trying to coax Gwen smoothly. "Please don't feel like you need to share anything you're not comfortable with. I may have over spoken, and for that, I apologize."

Gwen smiled. Seemingly, that had done the trick. Anna liked that about Gwen, her instinct was to protect Mr. Bates.

"Don't be," she responded. "You hit the nail on the head. I don't know why she treats him so poorly, but she does. She's not that obvious in front of the others, but, I've heard and seen many things because of my proximity to both of them."

Perhaps Gwen could give her a lead to start off with.

"Mmmm. She was flirting the other day with Jimmy and Alfred, wasn't she?" Anna's tone reassured Gwen that she rejected that behavior.

Gwen nodded.

"She flirts with all of them. Even Thomas, and he's gay." She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Sometimes I think she does it on purpose to get a rise out of him, to see if he will lose his cool in front of us, but, he rarely does. I have heard them fighting, but, that is usually behind closed doors."

"What about him? Does he flirt with the staff?" Anna had to know if what she experienced in the morning was his typical behavior. He didn't directly flirt with her, that she knew, but he smiled at her and touched her in a way that your boss would never do.

"Never. He is the most polite, correct boss one could ever have. I think he respects us too much and would never provoke her by using any one of us."

Anna felt relief that John Bates was as genuine as she thought he was. Gwen wouldn't lie. She was only one employee out of the 17 total here at the firm, but her words gave Anna more confidence. They also made her more nervous. _If he never flirted with the others, what was that this morning?_ _Was he responding to her stupid nervousness around him?_

They were interrupted by Vera calling from her office. She didn't pick up the phone and dial the extension she needed, she was bellowing loudly from her desk.

"Angie, come here. I need you."

Gwen and Anna looked at each other. Who was she calling?

Vera walked to her door when nobody responded.

"Angie – are you deaf?" She was looking straight at Anna. "I have been calling you."

Gwen responded for both of them.

"Mrs. Bates, did you mean you wanted Anna?"

She now pointed directly at her.

"You, whatever your name is – Angie or Anna – get me some tea. One sugar only."

With that she turned her back on them and walked back to her desk.

Anna was stunned, but slowly starting to fume. _Wasn't asking somebody else for your beverage a thing of the past? Hadn't that been phased out in the seventies and eighties?_ Vera was playing a game. That was certain. She wouldn't let it get to her. She stood to get the damn tea, reminding herself what her true goals were. She wasn't here to cause a controversy. She was here to do a job.

Gwen held her wrist to stop her. Anna swiveled until she faced Gwen who had already started talking.

"She did that to me initially. It only stopped when Mr. Bates overheard her once. He doesn't care for that type of bullshit. His words, not mine. Report that back to him as soon as you can, or she'll be ordering you about to no end. Do it…. He'll listen to you."

* * *

Anna balanced the mug of scalding tea and walked towards Vera's office. A man's voice surprised her and she kept herself away from the door frame for just a moment so that she could listen. It appeared to be Thomas.

"I hear Switzerland is nice this time of year. Maybe you should go."

"That would be nice, but not now. Maybe later…."

Anna came into the office then, wanting to gauge their reaction. They stayed quiet, and said nothing. Anna suspected they did not want her to hear their conversation, so, the topic must be private, but Switzerland meant nothing at the time being. Maybe she was planning a vacation without Mr. Bates?

All of a sudden, getting Vera's tea had its advantages. She would be able to pick up on tidbits of useful data. She would be sure to be available as much as possible.

"Here you are Mrs. Bates. Tea with one sugar as requested." She set it on the desk and took a step back, expecting something – anything really – to come from Vera, but nothing did.

Vera just looked at her and didn't even thank her.

Thomas smirked. He was gay, Gwen had confirmed it, and he wasn't hiding his sexuality, thus, Anna did not think he was the mysterious lover. They could have been talking about anything, but the fact that they kept quiet got her to thinking that she might need to be careful around him. Her sixth sense told her that she had to watch out for him too.

* * *

Anna caught John in the car park as he prepared to leave for the day. She was ready to depart too. Noticing that there was nobody, she quickly came to him. She chided herself for forgetting to ask him this morning. When he put his hand on her, all coherent thought had escaped her. She would make this quick, lest these questionable feelings that overpowered her in the morning manifest themselves again. She only needed a minute of his time.

He saw her approach and shuddered. He had spent half the morning convincing himself that his morning reaction was ridiculous. His thoughts were very inappropriate. She was a professional - an undercover Private Investigator in his firm, no less. He willed himself to stay calm.

"Before I forget, Mr. Bates, I'll need to see a copy of the anonymous note you mentioned when we first met. Please find a way to get it to me soon."

She was curt and emotionless.

"Is that all you need?"

Following suit, he was curt and emotionless as well.

"Yes."

"Fine. I'll find a way."

"Thanks."

"No, Thank You."

They both turned around and went on their way, not before looking back, at different intervals, to see the other retreat towards their car.

* * *

Has she started moving?" Pops and Elsie were parked two kilometers away from the Bates Airlift compound. Elsie managed the hand held GPS device that would track her movements for them, while Pops would do the driving. As soon as the device picked up on her moving, they would start up their car and turn on to the main road, anticipating that she would take the same one. Measuring their speed, she would eventually catch up to them and they would let her pass them, continuing to follow her. This slight maneuver helped make sure she did not get the sense that she was being followed.

"You ask me every time and every time, I tell you that I will advise you when the target has started moving…..so, no. She has not started moving." Elsie remarked quite sarcastically. He never failed with his impatience. She knew he was most excited when they were just about to trail somebody.

Suddenly, the device chirped as expected, signaling their target was on the move.

"You heard that?" She turned to look at her husband. He pouted his lips.

"She is turning on to the B1228 as expected. She should pass us in about five minutes." Elsie smiled, very pleased that they had anticipated her actions and that they could finally start to follow her. It was 7:30pm, a full half hour after her husband had gone home for the day. They had seen him drive by too.

"I'll get on the road." Pops started the car as per their plan and meandered on the road.

"We should see her any moment now." Elsie kept studying the signal given off by the hidden artefact in Vera's automobile. "There she is." The car came into view. They were almost nearing the intersection to the A1079 where she should turn left if she was going home. They let her pass them. Once Vera came into the interchange, she did not merge onto the A1079. She continued north, towards Murton on the A64. The Bates' lived in a large home they had built in Osbaldwick, a farming community two miles east of York. She could only go so far on the A64 and not turn left towards her house. She missed the last possible turn, confirming that she was not headed in that direction.

"By golly, I think we have a live one!" Pops was visibly excited. The idea that something could be happening never ceased to excite him and the thought that Vera was doing exactly what they wanted was always a moment of celebration.

Elsie laughed. "Settle down, love. Perhaps she should actually go somewhere before we celebrate? Mmmm?" Vera could be heading to the supermarket for all they knew. It was still too early to tell.

After a few more kilometers, they began to realize that she was heading towards the Monks Cross Shopping Centre on Malton Road. Before she actually reached the parking area, she turned into the Park and Ride car lot. A respectable distance behind, they followed in her steps. They could see she had found an open space in the front row. This was an odd situation. If she were going to the ASDA, or the Marks and Spencer, she had parked too far away for it to be practical. This could only mean that she meant to take a bus somewhere.

"I'll get off now if we have any chance of following her further. I'll text you." Elsie bolted from the passenger seat in the direction of the bus stop, but Vera had made it to the stop the moment a grey line bus was getting ready to head out on its route. Vera got on board and the doors closed immediately. In a composed rage, Elsie saw as it sped away. It was bus #33, she read from afar on the back side. They could still trail her if they managed to get her to board it further on in the route. She knew exactly where the route stopped, having learned the entire route system of the York transportation authority. She turned to look for Charles, hoping he had noticed she hadn't made it and breathed a sigh of relief as she heard a screech of wheels. He rounded a row of vehicle and moved in quickly to collect her.

"You missed her!" Charles bellowed at his wife.

"Well, I'm not 20 anymore, am I? Making a scene to catch the bus would have her focus on my face as I came on. It wasn't worth the risk."

He harrumphed loudly, but knew she was right. Big scenes only helped if they were awkward and annoying, a pain for somebody else to watch.

"We can catch up," she added.

By the time they made it out of the parking structure and turned onto the road that followed the bus route, it was at a distance. Elsie was determined to board it, but they encountered heavy traffic on the road; the result of exiting vehicles from the Shopping Centre.

"You should do Muslim. That's all you'll have time for." Elsie had reached towards the back seat where they usually had two or three accessories lined up in case they needed them. It was impossible to determine when things could change, so, anticipation was key in their game. Boarding a bus in close proximity to the target required camouflage. Charles kept an eye on the bus, but he could not get close enough to get her to a stop.

The delay, though frustrating, was giving her enough time to attire herself accordingly to the required charade. She had donned the hijab and wrapped it adequately. She looked at herself in the mirror. It looked convincing. To further compliment the outfit, she pulled the light coat she had on the backseat and started pulling it on. She would have to button it up completely. Her jumper had a slight dip in the front, something that a Muslim woman would never wear without a long sleeve, high neck undershirt. That wouldn't do. She needed to look the part and did not want to incite a riot if any other real Muslims saw her. She had the utmost respect for their beliefs and didn't think they would mind if she borrowed into their fashion for just a short period of time.

They were already nearing the York City Centre where Charles might not be able to drive any further. The bus stopped at a distance where Elsie thought she could board if she made a dash for it.

"I am going to run." Without waiting to hear if Charles said anything else, she exited the vehicle and slammed the door shut, sprinting the few meters. The doors had closed, but she rapped on the window and the kind driver stopped to get her.

"Thank you." She bowed her head as she paid and slowly made her way down the semi-congested aisle. There were no empty seats; it was full. There were people standing about, but not enough people that she could not see everybody's faces. She scrutinized every passenger in the most unobtrusive way possible. She reached the end and Vera was not there.

* * *

**A/N: My next installment may take longer to post, as I will be on the road for the next two weeks. Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think?**


	4. To Shower or Not to Shower

**Thank you for all your nice reviews, favorites and follows. **

* * *

6:17am read the clock in Anna's car. She was used to getting up early, but still hated every single morning when the alarm buzzed. More than one expletive came from her mouth and she cursed life, creation, her existence, responsibility and every other intangible thing she could think of to blame. Still, she was thankful she had something to do, somewhere to go. She hadn't emitted a single curse in the last couple of days. She wouldn't insult life when it had given her this opportunity. Now, if it could only give her the chance of a warm shower.

It had been a surprise when she arrived home on Friday night to find Mary in hysterics. They had no running water in the flat and she had a date she needed to get ready for. The building supervisor had told them there was an electrical issue in their building's grid that served the roof top, where the water heater and pump that distributed the water to the tenants were housed. It would be several days before it would get fixed properly. The result was no water and Mary towel bathing in her father's pub in the water closet. By Sunday they had water, albeit it being a trickle, but the electrical issue in the water heater had not been fixed. The result was cold trickling water.

It had helped that she needed to trade notes with Elsie and Pops and managed to bathe at their flat on both Saturday and Sunday. She wouldn't trudge back there again on Monday and thought of a most brilliant alternative. Bates Airlift had those private shower stalls in the pilot locker room. Surely no one would object if she went there early enough to groom herself? Even if Mr. Bates came in early like he had done last week, she would already be dressed and ready. That meant getting to the office a whole hour earlier than last week.

So now, at 6:18 am, she was driving through the gates again. It was pitch black, the sun had not risen yet, but her car's headlights illuminated a lone vehicle in the carpark. John Bates' car was there. She couldn't believe it. Would he always be there if she wanted to do something in surprise? She shrieked in despair. It was no use to go back home now. She looked down, glancing at her attire – she was wearing an old Hello Kitty pink jumper and sweatpants that read "Princess" across her bum. They were her comfort, stay-at-home-and-never-be-seen-in clothes. No matter her embarrassment, she would have to ask permission to go through with her plan. She dragged her overnight bag that held her grooming essentials from the back seat, and pulled her outfit that hung from the support rungs in her car. She breathed in and walked towards the entrance, expecting full force humiliation at any moment.

The lights were out throughout the floor. That was unexpected. As far as she could make out, there were none turned on anywhere. If Mr. Bates was here, he wasn't working in his office._ Maybe he was taking a nap in the quiet room? Perhaps he and Vera had a fight and he had left?_ She walked slowly and quietly.

"Hello. Anybody here? It's Anna Smith."

There was no response.

She realized that some lights were turned on in the hangar. The entire airfield was visible from the crew room where she now stood. The left hand side of the hangar was empty, where she was used to seeing Maggie. From a distance, she could also see the golf cart. She peered around the corner, towards where they usually parked it and she saw it was missing. Mmmm. He must be out on a flight. Perfect! Luck was finally on her side. She moved towards the showers to set everything up.

* * *

John saw the lights he had left on in the hangar. He knew his way over the terrain well enough, even in the darkness, but he always felt just a little happier when he was able to distinguish his airfield from the other city lights. In a few minutes, he would be home. This night, as all his middle of the night excursions were, was quite fraught with tension. He really wanted a long hot shower before getting to work and reviewing his work list. It might be the only thing to help him relax.

* * *

Anna stepped into one of the two available shower stalls. It was clean, but small, and thankfully had a lock. Not that she would need it now. She was alone.

She wondered how Daisy managed in here. There were no distinct male and female quarters. The two genders were supposed to share and it was definitely designed for men. There were no hooks to hang things, or towel racks to dry your towels. At least there was an electrical outlet close to the sink with a mirror. She would at least be able to blow dry her hair calmly. The lighting was dim, though. When she did her make-up, she would have to sit close to a window with natural light if she did not want to end up looking like Sarah O'Brien.

She unwrapped a towel from her body and draped it over the stall door. She started the shower and was relieved to see there was excellent water pressure, providing a heavy and steady stream. It was hot within a minute. She took at least two minutes to herself, without doing anything while the scalding liquid rained over her body. It was a glorious feeling and she realized that it was one of those things that were taken for granted until they were gone. She poured a generous portion of shampoo and lathered, then rinsed.

All of a sudden, the stall started to tremble lightly. That was odd. She looked at the shower head. Sometimes, her old bathroom fixtures trembled when there was too much demand on water from the pump on the roof, meaning too many people in the building were trying to shower. Maybe the pipes here did something similar. She ignored it and poured another amount of conditioner, smoothing it over her hair. She took her liquid soap and lathered her body completely. The trembling continued then stopped. When she was completely covered from head to toe, she had an epiphany, and to her horror, realized that the trembling was a helicopter announcing its arrival. She'd only been there a week and had heard the hard to ignore sound plenty of times, but here, in the shower, surrounded by tile, and running water, the sound was muffled and quite different than what she had experienced before._ How could she not have figured this out sooner?_ - Specifically, the moment she first heard it. Too many precious minutes had passed. It was probably already on the ground.

Crickey! No doubt it was Mr. Bates returning from wherever he went. She frantically washed the soap and conditioner from her body and hair, running her hand all over to quicken the pace. Just a few minutes earlier, she had shuddered from the humiliation of having him see her ungroomed in sweatpants and a frumpy jumper. Wrapped in a towel was positively worse. _What would he think of her?_

* * *

John parked the golf cart in its place and unlocked the doors, letting himself in through the customer waiting room.

As he made his way through the dark hallways, he unzipped his pantsuit and shrugged it off his shoulders, leaving the top part dangling from his waist. The anticipation of having the hot water running over his body made him walk with haste towards the crew room. He had left everything he needed in a locker, including a fresh change of clothes. He pulled his undershirt over his head, leaving his torso bare.

He stopped for a moment in contemplation. He saw a sliver of light coming from underneath the door of the locker room. _Had he forgotten to turn it off when he arrived hours ago? _It was too early for any of his pilots to be out an about and there were no early departures booked for this morning. He had checked before leaving on his trip. Yet, he could remember turning it off. He always did, conscious that electric economy was key in keeping their costs down. He was always turning off the lights when other forgot to.

He opened the door to find Anna Smith wrapped in a towel and clutching her clothing against her body. She must have heard him arrive and was struggling to get all her things together before she was found in a compromising situation.

"Anna. I …..I….wasn't expecting to see you here." He could barely get out the words. He shivered at the sight he saw. He felt his temperature rise, and it wasn't from the accumulated steam in the room.

Her long wet hair clung to her body, dripping water over the mountains of her small breasts. He couldn't help but follow their path until they disappeared, absorbed quickly by the towel that covered her strategically. Even while she was shrouded and hidden behind such coverings, he could appreciate the curves of her body and see her shapely legs and calves, delicate shoulders and graceful neck. Lord, she was alluring. She was trying to be modest and show some decorum in this peculiar situation, but, she unwittingly failed, because she had not clutched her clothing appropriately. She was unaware that a black lace bra dangled from the pile, quite noticeably. It was too much for him. He felt a stirring and his body was reacting to the sight in front of him. He gasped internally. Bollocks. That was the worst thing that could happen to him. Then he thanked the Lord that the jumpsuit was not made of stretch material and could contain his growing embarrassment. He was bare-chested and ought to put on his shirt, but keeping it bunched together around his midsection was more appropriate.

"I am so, so, sorry Mr. Bates. I only have a trickle of water in my flat since yesterday and it is as cold as ice. I thought that if I came early enough, I would not run into anybody." She was very flustered, and her embarrassment was increasing as he stood with his mouth open, not reacting to what she was saying. She could tell something was happening. He looked flustered. He must be upset. She probably ruined this opportunity. He would want her out of there.

She was trying to think straight, but the sight of his uncovered torso was causing her to stutter. He had broad shoulders and a large hairy chest. He was so masculine. She couldn't stop staring and imagining herself running her hands through it. It was beckoning her, calling her to feel the silk between her fingers. She should turn around, but she was glued to the floor. She couldn't willingly move while he was still there, distracting her, but, she found words once more.

"This, This is clea, clearly abusing our business arrangement. I would understand if ….."

He raised his hand to stop her.

"It's not a problem. Just holler when you're done. I'll be in my office." He stepped back slowly and left her all alone.

* * *

John turned on the lights in his office, hoping the sudden flash of brightness could erase his memory. _Will Smith, where are you?_ He sat down and put his head between his hands for the second time that week. That Will Smith movie prop, the one from that alien flick where he could flash you and make you forget a memory came to his mind. It could be of real help in this situation. Maybe not, he quickly reconsidered after only a few seconds. Aliens were meant to be forgotten and erased. Not a beautiful, sexy blonde sprite that just happened to be wrapped in a towel in his locker room. What a treat to have experienced. _No, he did not want to forget and who was he kidding?_ Anna Smith did something to him. He hardly knew her, this couldn't be love, it was too early for that, but there was an undeniable attraction between them. He was sure she felt it too. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him.

* * *

Anna had dressed and groomed in record time. So much for her brilliant idea, she thought. She would have to face him soon to remove the awkwardness of their situation. They wouldn't be able to work together if she didn't. She wouldn't hide. She wasn't after all, stealing from him or doing anything illegal or crass. He had showers, she had bathed. Hopefully they could move past this.

When she was back on the administrative side, she was reminded of why she was at Bates Airlift to begin with. She found the anonymous note on her desk, in an envelope. He probably left it while she was finishing getting dressed as he did not take too much care to hide it. It was a quarter after seven and there was nobody else in the office, so she pulled it open.

YOU SHOULD NOT TRUST ALL YOUR PERSONNEL. THERE IS DECEIT ALL AROUND YOU. HEED MY WARNING.

That was strong. _Why did he think this had to do with Vera and her liaisons?_ The letter would have said something referencing an affair, yet he was convinced it had to do with his wife. Mmmm. This was an odd way to word such a thing. She looked at it closely. It was normal office paper, a standard font but in slightly larger size. There was some fading on a couple of the words, no doubt caused by toner inconsistency in the copy machine. The toner should have been replaced by now as Mr. Bates had mentioned it had been at least a year since he received it. Reproducing the faded effect would be difficult. She would have to find a way to print something from every printer in the office to determine who the potential anonymous tipper could be.

* * *

Mr. Bates walked back to his office, leaving the smell of his aftershave cologne in his wake. It hit Anna as he walked past her desk towards his own. A warm feeling made its way into the pit of her stomach. She had never been confronted with such a sensation, such a visceral reaction to a man's scent. She'd had relationships before and was used to the clean smell of a freshly washed man, but she had never reacted this way.

She needed to pull herself together and quickly. The other employees would be arriving soon. If she was to confront him, she had to do it now.

She shook her head from side to side, trying to dispel the feelings that were threatening to derail her progress. She closed her eyes with concentration and stretched, allowing new energy to flood her senses and with as much aplomb and courage as she could muster, she walked the few steps to his office.

"Mr. Bates?" Her voice was sweet and melodious. She stayed at the entrance, not daring to come in fully.

He looked up and smiled. Hearing her say his name, with the elongated "A" was music to his hears. She said it so beautifully, almost like singing…..but she was here to talk about what just happened. That embarrassed him greatly. He hoped she hadn't seen what seeing her had done to him. He would rather not face her, but that wouldn't help accomplish their business together. He needed her to find the truth about Vera.

She couldn't read him. He didn't look upset. There was an odd look about him. _Was that embarrassment?_

"I won't make it a habit, this was a one time situation and I am truly sorry to have imposed myself on your good graces." She reminded herself to smile and act congenial. This was an issue of horrible timing and her taking slight liberties; it was not a reprehensible crime and she wasn't trying to take advantage of him. She hoped he saw it that way.

"No need for concern. You startled me, is all. I am not used to opening that door and encountering a scantily clad beautiful woman. Mostly, just the sorry lot of pilots who work for me."

_Oh Lord, did he just put his foot in his mouth and make this more awkward? …._Scantily clad beautiful woman_….._ How moronic of him. She was likely to think he was a pervert. Apparently, too many years living with the ice queen had stunted his senses. Yet, Anna did not look like she was taking offense. Confused maybe, but not upset.

Anna was trying hard to hide any emotion from bubbling to the surface. _Did he just call her beautiful_? You must play it cool, Anna. Don't mess this up. Yet, his scent was still wafting in the atmosphere and it was threatening to override her thinking.

"Well, I can't say I've ever experienced being walked in on by a handsome bare chested man either."

That was it. There was no way of denying that her statement had not come out as blatant flirting. She had said handsome, bare chested man. It was the epitome of her stupidity. She had gone in there to settle things, not make it worse, and she had. _What could she possibly say now that could fix this, whatever it was that they were doing?_

There was a glimmer in his eyes after she said this. He looked pleased and at the same time, conflicted. Maybe she should just leave. Neither was very good at resolving the awkwardness of the situation.

Luckily, the sound of somebody punching the code to come through the entrance cut their time together short.

"I'll just get back to work, then." She smiled weakly and turned to leave.

Phyllis Baxter said polite and hurried hellos as she came through the front and passed behind her. Phyllis didn't even look her in the eye. She lowered her gaze as she walked past.

"Good morning." Both Anna and John responded to her in unison.

Anna felt uncomfortable and wondered if the quiet lady might have picked up anything from her body language. She couldn't imagine that Phyllis would have heard anything. That would be impossible. Mr. Bates seemed uncomfortable too and tried to avert any suspicion.

"Thank you Anna for your report…. Excellent first week."

"You're welcome Mr. Bates."

* * *

"I can't believe they have assigned you to me already." Sarah was none too pleased when Anna pulled up her chair, ready to start learning.

Anna had invoked all the patience she could gather. All last week while she was with Gwen, she had heard this Ms. O'Brien complain about everything. Nothing could be done without everybody else hearing about it.

"Well, it was Mr. Bates' schedule. I am sure he had his reasons when he organized it this way. I am all yours."

"How comforting." Sarah rolled her eyes as she opened up an excel spreadsheet.

"I'll show you how I do it, so pay attention as I will only explain it once."

"You do all of the bookings and organize the pilot rotas?" Anna asked sweetly

"You make it sound so easy. It takes more than that." There was a slight tone of offense in her response.

After several agonizing hours, Anna realized that Sarah's methods were completely ancient and unreliable. Her entire scheduling system was laid out on an excel workbook with a tab per day, a workbook per month. Each tab had all six choppers with columns underneath for every single pilot that was certified to fly it. Not every pilot could fly every helicopter. If there was a booking, Sarah greyed out the pilots name and added the time of the flight and the route details. She then filled out an information sheet for the pilot, called a "trip sheet". She had a tray with each pilots name and she would slip it into their slot. If there was any change in the schedule, or a cancellation, a similar sheet was filled out and added to their tray again.

Anna was no expert, had not even worked in anything requiring scheduling besides her university course loads, but this seemed wasteful. There had to be some sort of automation where a pilot could log in and see their schedule and not have to go through a handful of paper slips to make sense of it. Any changes could auto generate email notifications. Everybody had smart mobiles these days. If they could have information at their fingertips and at the moment, they could probably plan their days better.

As an amenity, they did provide lunch boxes with a sandwich, crisps and a piece of fruit, complemented by cold beverages. Many of their clients who were on the go rarely stopped for lunch and this kept some of their customer happy. Sarah would estimate what they would need in a week and Patmore's Executive Catering service would deliver early on Monday mornings. Anna had seen the refrigeration units in the hangar so it made sense. If supplies were depleted from unexpected bookings, the owner supplied them immediately. Sarah added the customer preferences onto the trip sheet after pulling a card from her rolodex.

_A rolodex? Who uses those anymore? Surely they could have an online customer database that when you made the booking and pulled their name from the list, it would auto-populate everything else?_

Anna asked how Sarah kept track of a pilot's flight hours for the day or for the week to make sure she didn't overschedule them. Anna assumed they would adhere to a similar amount of hours worked like the office staff did, even if their hours required early morning departures, late arrivals and the occasional weekend trip. Maybe even more stringent, Anna thought. She had heard reports of the risk of pilot fatigue from commercial airlines if a pilot worked too many hours without rest and wondered if it was similar with helicopter pilots. They may not fly as far away as the other pilots, but fatigue could happen to everybody. Sarah was not forthright with her answer and left Anna with many questions, the result, Anna mused, at Sarah's attempt at job security. She wouldn't show Anna all of her tasks lest she be replaced.

Anna was still more shocked when she learned that Sarah's complex spreadsheets were only backed up once a month onto CD's. If a server ever crashed, they could not protect the data that was stored. They wouldn't know what they had booked. That was a huge risk. The document was also on a shared drive, which meant everybody in the office could have access to it. When she was sick or on holiday, Gwen and Phyllis shared the load to cover for her, so more than one person had access, but there was no audit trail. You couldn't know what was booked by whom or who had touched a file. There was no accountability at all. She had to urge Mr. Bates to do something. His business was at risk.

* * *

This was a frosty morning that required lots of hot tea. Elsie poured the scalding water from the metallic thermos bottle into the disposable cups that were placed in the car's beverage holder. She didn't understand the craze about buying from the big chains – the Starbucks and Costa outlets that seemed to be all over the place. A whole box of tea at Sainsbury's was less than 2 quid and it cost as much for only a cup at any one of those fancy locations. No, she was happy doing it the old fashioned way; the way it was done before any of those modern locations had proliferated like the plague.

She opened the glove box to find the tea bags.

"Do you want Blackcurrant with Dragon fruit, or Citrus Explosion?" She held up and waved the colorful boxes for Charles to look at.

He sighed and pouted.

"Elsie, I want tea. Good old-fashioned tea, not fruit salad converted into tea. Have you no Earl Grey or Darjeeling anywhere in there?" He pointed at the accumulation of dry goods stored within the minimal space afforded in the glove box. They kept a lot of provisions in there, never knowing what a day's surveillance would bring.

"Oh bother…. You never want to try anything different." She fished out a box of his favorite morning blend and reluctantly dropped a packet into his cup. She did the same to hers, albeit trying the Blackcurrant option, and added a packet of sugar to each as well. She was slightly annoyed.

He sensed her frustration. "I get enough excitement from our profession, thank you very much…. my tea, and my woman, I like exactly the same." He winked at her, diffusing her irritation.

"Oh, you big lump." His words generated the intended effect and they shared a sweet peck that was interrupted by the pinging noise of Vera's GPS signal.

"She's on the move," observed Elsie as she held up the small screen for Charles to look at.

"She doesn't seem to be going to work." The small icon representing her vehicle had her coming towards the center of York, not going towards Elvington.

"I guess we shall need to intercept her." Charles started the car and drove towards the point they thought they would meet up with her vehicle. They had anticipated a break in her routine and had driven to a strategic location where they could drive easily if should she come towards York.

It had been a surprise last week when she had eluded them. They were absolutely sure that she was unaware of their existence and that her actions were spurred by deceit. Her need to take a very impractical route, to get to wherever she was going by using public transportation, did indicate that there was something she was trying to hide. If one has the luxury of owning a vehicle, reason would dictate that she would not have gone to extreme of parking so far from where she was headed. Mr. Bates must be right. There was substance to his accusation.

When they had arrived back home, they were able to cross reference the zone where they thought she may have descended, against the addresses of the Bates Airlift male employees. Anthony Strallan, Evelyn Napier and Tom Branson lived in the vicinity, but they were not convinced she had descended with a specific target in mind. Most likely, she had hailed a cab when they could not have seen her.

Now that they knew that she was hiding something and that catching her would require them to be the smarter party, they were ready. Most of their targets tended to be clueless and their objective of catching them in their deception was over rather quickly. They enjoyed the more complex cases and Charles often told Elsie that he likened it to a hunt and their target was their prey. This wasn't about strength and agility. This was about cunning and outmaneuvering. Charles rarely lost and Vera Bates would not win.

"Here she comes, love." Elsie could see the target approaching them.

When Charles saw her, he merged onto the street and soon enough, she passed him, speeding ahead. After a few kilometers, she put on the signal lights and turned into a commercial street lined with all sort of shops. They stayed farther behind and saw that she had been lucky enough to find a parking spot on this street. Elsie took a quick sip of her now tepid tea, pulled her hair into a low bunch and donned a pair of large rimmed sunglasses, shielding much of her upper face. As Vera positioned the car correctly, she descended the vehicle. Charles drove on, looking for a place to hide while Elsie texted him any instructions.

Elsie found herself staring at a small housewares display in a shop window. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Vera leave the vehicle and walk down the street. Elsie followed a short distance behind her, stopping frequently to look into the windows of the other establishments. Vera finally ducked into a store. Elsie sauntered slowly. The storefront read, "Maisie's Beauty Salon." Elsie took her mobile and pretended that she was trying to get a better signal, justifying her presence right outside the window. She could see Vera inside and before too long, she was ushered to a room in the back.

This could be a trick. She had eluded them once before. There were only two more businesses and she turned the corner, seeing to the backside of the establishments. There was a narrow snickelway and she came upon the door which would be the rear exit of "Maisie's Beauty Salon". There was a window where she would be able to look in, but, it was too high up. She texted Charles to explain her location and within a few minutes, he encountered her by foot.

All of a sudden, they heard a female's voice moaning, followed by a loud yelp.

"What do you need?" There was a sense of urgency in his voice. They might have stumbled into an opportunity. He didn't see anybody in the narrow lane they were on, but continued whispering, lest they be heard as well. If they could hear the moaning, then those on the inside could hear them too.

She pointed towards the window. "I need to look in there."

He looked around and there was no debris he could pile together to support her. He would have to hoist her up there himself. They had a rule while working and following on a lead. They would not question the other's need as long as it wasn't outrageous. When they were in work mode, they supported each other 100%.

"Do you want my back, or hands?"

She thought for a moment. They weren't getting any younger and her weight would do him harm either way, so, the fastest would be his hands. She made sure she had everything she needed for her camera, adapting the zoom lens, preparing it for immediate use.

They heard another loud moan. _Was it possible that she was meeting her lover clandestinely in this location? _Elsie hoped so. She did worry about Anna working in that place. The sooner they could catch Vera, the better it would be for everybody.

"Your hands will be quicker."

He laced the fingers of both hands together, and then leaned against the wall for support. He spread his legs to balance himself better, then stooped a few inches to make this "virtual step" easier for her.

She took hold of his shoulder and positioned her foot in his hands. She was boosted into the air at just enough height that she could peer into the room through the small window. He was having a hard time keeping her steady and she found herself swaying and holding onto the window sill for stability. She could also hear Charles moaning below, and trying to suppress the noise.

They heard another moan and Elsie shuddered with what she had just seen. It had been enough and she tapped his shoulder as a signal to let her down.

He was red faced from the strain.

"We can go. She's in there getting a Brazilian."

"What?...Quick! It doesn't matter where he's from. Take her picture with him. That's all we need." He was whispering loudly.

She sighed. He clearly did not understand.

With a hint of shame in her voice, she whispered back. "She's getting her VA-JAY-JAY waxed, Charles. It's not a man."

"I don't understand. Waxing her VA-JAY-JAY? What is that?"

Elsie was not a prude, but she was a bit old fashioned. Speaking about the female genitalia to her husband out in the open was a bit of a stretch for her…. and knowing him, he would be quite flustered when he realized what that was. She would have to spell it out in clearer terms.

She took his hand and with a motherly and firm tone, she explained. "She is getting her vagina waxed, love. That involves removing most of her pubic hair by having it covered in hot wax, applying a strip of paper or cloth, then ripping it quickly from her body. I've heard it can be quite painful. "

His eyes popped open wider with disbelief, then shock.

"Oh, God," was all he said.

* * *

"John, can I have a moment?" He heard the distinct suave voice of his Sales Manager walking through the door.

"Of course. What's on your mind?" John knew what this was about and sighed internally. He did not want to upset Richard. He was a good man, but he was asking too much.

"Have you had the opportunity to look at the partnership proposal that I put together?" He was very eager to get a response.

"I have, but I'm just not sure….. " John reflected concern. He wanted to be very tactful. "It's very bold. You're asking for a 50% stake in the company."

Richard smirked with a bit of cynicism.

"Come now John. You know we can negotiate and you know I am worth it. I have the capital to invest and it is through my work that you have all the accounts that you do. In the last five years since I have been here, you've grown from two to six aircraft and added personnel to meet the demand you've had. That didn't all happen by itself."

Richard had him there. He was very gifted in Sales. Bates Airlift did owe him a lot.

Richard continued.

"If I land the CONOCO EXPLORATIONS account, it will be worth millions and when I do, you will have to consider this partnership. I won't continue to work here if you do not value my contribution."

There was a raised tone of indignation in his voice. John wanted to diffuse the tension.

"Richard, I cannot deny that your contribution hasn't helped us grow over the last five years. It has. I also pay you a very generous commission for each contract, so this contribution has not gone unnoticed." He paused to emphasize a point. "I am willing to entertain a different percentage, but I have to talk to Vera. She has to have a say in this as well."

Richard smiled. It was a small gain.

"I trust you will know how to convince your wife."

Anna took a couple of calls while Sarah listened in and filled out several "trip sheets" that day. For all of Sarah's antagonism, the day seemed to be going smoothly. So much so, that the sour woman had left her alone for a whole hour to fend for herself. Anna quite enjoyed the challenge and spoke to two more accounts that wanted modifications on their schedules. After each call she took, she decided to email herself the tab she had changed from each workbook that was touched so that she could track what changes she had made. She also enabled the "Track Changes" function in excel. Gwen had made it absolutely clear to her that when working with Sarah, you could never be careful enough. Save every email from her; print every change you make. Basically – CYA – Cover Your Arse. As crass as that sounded, Anna decided she wouldn't question Gwen's good judgment. She had lived with it for longer and new better than she did. That and her own sixth sense told her not to trust the woman at all.

* * *

Thomas and Sarah leaned against the golf cart taking a smoke in the shade.

"Is she any good?" Thomas asked before puffing on the cigarette.

"If by good, you mean - overzealous-job-stealing-bitch, then, the answer is yes."

Thomas rolled his eyes with surprise.

"Blimey. That was harsh. What makes you think she is out to steal your job? Has she said anything?"

"She doesn't have to. Anybody who interns in a placement program is out to find a job. Why should this one be any different?" Sarah was emphasizing her words as the emotion started to catch up with her. "There she is asking all of these questions, trying to learn, trying to be perfect…. She even asked me if I had considered automating some of my processes. Who does she think she is? All of a sudden she is an expert?"

"That does seem a little presumptuous for somebody that is so new." Thomas looked upset. "What will you do?"

"Well, she can forget about my job. I won't let her get the better of me, that's for sure. I'll show her where her place is…."

"What do you mean?"

"I know how to get her in trouble. Watch and learn." Sarah put out her cigarette and went back inside.

* * *

"Toneeeeee….."

Anna cringed when she heard Vera yelping for Anthony Strallan from her desk. He wasn't that far away to not hear her, but he was removed enough for it to be rude for her to call out like that. She should have walked to his office herself or dialed his extension. It was disturbing the entire office. She had only gotten to work half an hour ago, even when it was almost mid-day. Anna hoped Pops and Elsie had made progress tracking her movements. The sooner she could help Mr. Bates, the better it would be for everybody in this office

"Toneeeeeee…"

When she called a second time, Anna saw a very befuddled man walk across the hall to where she was.

"Yes, Vera."

He disappeared into the office.

"Angieeeeeeeee….."

Anna closed her eyes. She should have known she would be next. The damn woman couldn't remember her name either. She repeated to herself that getting that woman whatever beverage she wanted allowed her more insight into her conversations. That calmed her enough. She stood and walked towards the office, anticipating the request.

"Yes, Mrs. Bates?"

"Tea with one sugar… and quick, I'm suddenly very cold." Anna was about to leave. "Wait. Tony, do you want something?'

He turned towards Anna with a kind and perturbed look. "No, I am fine. I can get my own drink."

She could not have been gone more than five minutes. She returned and observed that Anthony looked very uncomfortable.

"Will you do that for me, pleeeeeeease…..?" She drew out the syllables of the last word, elongating the question. She sounded whiny. From the corner of her eye, while she was setting down the mug, she noticed Mrs. Bates feet wrap around his legs, playing some sort of very improper "footsies" with him. He didn't pull his feet away, although he didn't have much room if he would have tried.

Before Anna left, she could hear him say. "I'll do my best."

She returned to her desk and sat down, wondering what to think of that. Not a moment later, Mr. Bates himself walked out of his office towards hers. Anthony encountered him outside and his expression made him look very guilty. He couldn't look him in the eye and left. That was odd. Mmmm. _Anthony Strallan, the lover? _Not being able to face Mr. Bates was a definite clue. She would have to check him out.

Before she could process any further, she heard Vera raise her voice again. Mr. Bates was closing the door behind him as he stepped into the office, but she managed to hear her say, "So, slipping out in the middle of the night Batesy? What's her name?"

* * *

**A/N: My intention was to post a chapter a week, but RL is not allowing me to respect my allotted writing time. IT may be a while before I can get back to a weekly update. **

**Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think..**


	5. O'Brien's Fury

"There is no other woman and you know it."

He closed the door quietly behind him, hoping Vera's harsh statement had gone unheard by the others in the office. Thoughts of Anna filtered through his mind. She was sitting so close to them, she might have been able to listen. He didn't want her to have any reasons to doubt him. He shook Anna from his conscience and remembered a more practical reason. Regardless of the situation between him and his wife, the rest of the team did not have to be made aware of their fraught conversations. He was sure Gwen knew more than she let on to, but he had his doubt about the others. As he moved towards the empty chair in her office, he felt it necessary to justify his absence and added another comment, in a low tone, hoping to minimize the situation and deflect any further comments from Vera.

"I needed to think and I do that best when I am in the air." He didn't have to say anything, especially when Vera never told him where she was going or what she was doing, yet her insinuation of another woman left him feeling nervous. He didn't want her to know what he was really up to.

He sat down, barely on the edge of the seat, not comfortable at all with the conversation they were having.

"You want me to believe that you left in the middle of the night, after your mobile rang, so you could think?" Vera smirked sarcastically, not believing a word he said. She crossed her arms across her chest and John felt her defiant nature seeping through. She started to cackle and he was taken aback by her reaction.

She was mocking him openly. She was never any good at being subtle. "….and what does my flyer husband have to think about that is so important that a call would get him out of bed?" She leaned back against the chair, expecting an answer.

"That was not a call Vera; it was my mobile's alarm. I changed the sound and set it up to wake early." That was not the truth. It had been a call, but he hoped he sounded confident enough to deflect any suspicion. They slept in different bedrooms and the sound of the mobile's noise could easily be mistaken. "….and…. to answer your question, I had to think about the situation with Richard."

"What situation?" She furrowed her brow, seemingly unaware of anything that was going one with their Sales Manager.

"He's come to me at least three times. He wants an ownership share of the company."

"Ownership? That's a bit forward…. What makes him think we would ever give him a share?"

Before he could answer her question, he breathed deeply, aware that her sudden curiosity regarding Richard had finally veered her from questioning him regarding his midnight disappearance.

"He's committed to Bates Airlift and has landed most of the large accounts we have now. The last two expansions, we owe to him and his sales abilities. Our revenue would not be what it is today without him, so, we have to consider his request."

She didn't say anything else, but looked like she was going over his words in her head. Noting her silence on the matter, and believing she was considering the proposal, he continued with a further explanation.

"He's asking for a 50% partnership claim, which I believe is meant to gobsmack us, but, we could probably reduce that to 15 or 20. I have calculated some initial numbers based on 20% and there are some pros and cons. Ultimately, this will cost us, but we have to consider it if we want to see any future growth. Not considering him could end up hurting us more in the long run. "

He leaned back in the chair, comfortable that Vera hadn't made any negative comments yet. He was awaiting her questions.

Finally, she moved forward in her chair, suggesting she was ready to respond. "You can give him any percent of your share you consider necessary Batesy. I am not letting go of my 50%."

John was stunned with her response. For all of their personal problems, she always let him lead in their business decisions and generally agreed with anything that he brought forth. She mainly objected to anything that had to do with decorating and the distribution of office space within the Bates Airlift compound; never anything of real importance. Her resistance, then, was startling for John. It took him a minute to register her response and formulate a rebuttal that was not laced with any feeling.

"Vera, if we don't consider him for a partnership percentage, he will go somewhere else. He knows our business inside and out and replacing him will be difficult. You must also consider that if he went to work for our competitors, we would be in financial difficulties if he poached our accounts. We need to consider this."

He hoped he had swayed her opinion.

"What you are saying makes perfect sense, but, I don't intend to forfeit any percentage of my share." She had no emotion in her voice as she said the words that John was not expecting to hear. He tried again.

"Listen to reason Vera. What I propose is we give him a 20% stake. I forfeit 10% as you do. Together, we are still the majority owners, but we make him happy and we stop paying commission on each contract. He would be even more motivated to make this a success. He is not a bad fellow."

She leaned forward and placed the palms of her hand on the table, standing up in the process.

"I have a different proposal. You give him the 20%, you keep 30% and I become the majority owner with 50%. Now that is a plan I can really get behind."

John Sighed. "You are not going to agree, are you?"

"No, I am not."

John couldn't forget Vera's sarcastic nature during their entire conversation. It had been yesterday and he hadn't figured out a way to tell Richard that he could not offer him a partnership. If Vera did not want to offer a part of her share, there was no way that John was going to forfeit any of his. He would never be left in a position where Vera had more ownership than he did.

Maybe he could wait a few weeks and see what happened to the new account Richard was going to bring in. He would worry about it then.

* * *

"Good Morning Joe." Anna adjusted the bud on her Bluetooth ear piece as she looked into the rear view mirror. Time was precious these days. Now that she was working for two companies, she wasn't as free as she used to be. She was on her way to the Bates Airlift compound. Traffic was light, allowing for a conversation.

"Hello doll." She cringed and rolled her eyes, even though he couldn't see her.

"Joe, we talked about this. Please call me Anna." He was a nice fellow, if a bit obsessive and dense. He couldn't take the hint. He was continuously sweet talking her, thinking his chances with her would improve by his choice of words, but his attempts always came out sounding creepy. They had the opposite effect, repelling her further.

"So, Anna. What can I do for you today?" He laughed and snorted in the process, thinking himself funny.

"I am going to need full financials on several people, including credit card statements and mobile records. I've narrowed down my top five suspects for us to start with."

"Go ahead, love."

Anna shuddered again. If he wasn't so good at what he did, she would have asked Pops and Elsie to forego of his services. His creepy nature made him an excellent stalker of sorts and he could find just about anything that was needed in their cases.

Her thoughts shifted again to her list.

"First of all, Vera Bates. Then – give me Anthony Strallan, Richard Carlisle, Tom Branson, Evelyn Napier and Jack Ross."

* * *

Anna felt drained and it was only Wednesday. Sarah O'Brien really was a hard pill to swallow. Since the first day she had worked by the older lady's side, Sarah was always in an abominable mood. Anna sensed she somehow felt threatened by her and there was nothing she could say to appease the woman or get on her good side. She had every reason to worry, though. She was not very efficient and spoke to the clients very unprofessionally. If anybody bothered to look into her performance, she would be at risk. Anna wouldn't be the one to say anything, she wasn't a workplace consultant and didn't want anybody to lose their job because of her, but she knew so many people that could do the job better. The time with Sarah also helped Anna realize that she spent less time working than she did popping continuously into Vera's office. Her accumulated break time in a day was less than appropriate. That would help answer her internal question. "_Why has she not been sacked_?" Vera was some sort of protector or insurance policy that could guard against that. It all made sense to her now. Anna wondered if their association worked both ways. If Vera had a lover, would Sarah know about it?

The phone rang and Anna was pleased for the distraction. Sarah answered it, as she always did, leaving Anna alone for a moment. Sarah had been droning on about how to correctly fill out one of the trip sheets. She made it a point to chastise her, explaining that her penmanship was not good enough for her to work here and that she needed to do a better job of it if she didn't want to be dismissed. Anna stared at the offending document, while she listened to Sarah talk to one of the customers. Mmmm. She turned it around and brought it close, thinking that perhaps at a different angle, her writing was not what it should be. After scrutinizing it for a few seconds, she gave up. She could find nothing wrong with it. There were big block letters and the ink flowing from her pen was steady. It was completely legible. She wasn't being bias and could take constructive feedback when necessary. She wasn't too proud to accept if she needed to make corrections, but Sarah was finding fault with everything she did, whether there was substance to it or not. She'd have to get a second opinion from Gwen or somebody else to make sure she wasn't going crazy.

The raised tone in Sarah's voice made her stop and pay attention. There seemed to be an issue.

"I'm sorry about that. I can't find a booking for Mr. Wiggleton of Perkins Manufacturing for this Friday." She sighed loudly. "This Monday, you say? Around noon?"

Sarah turned to look at her, her eyes filled with hatred. Anna remembered taking the booking when Sarah went out for a smoke with Thomas. It had been a simple one way York-Manchester Airport Executive trip that she had assigned to Daisy. They had asked specifically for her and if she was not available, Alfred. The customer would come here. The staff assistant for Perkins was very kind and patient with her and almost appreciative that she hadn't needed to speak to Sarah.

"It wasn't I that did the booking? Well, that makes sense. It must have been the intern I have working with me." She paused, listening intently. "Well, you can't imagine how sorry I am."

Sarah continued to speak to the customer, while the color in her face changed to red.

"Yes, Yes. I still have space. Let me take the details from you and book it right away. I am very sorry this happened and will make sure that this does not happen again."

Anna braced herself for the onslaught that would take place in a minute. She wasn't sure she had made a mistake. She took the booking, made a copy and emailed it to herself. She had photocopied the trip sheets for those bookings when Sarah wasn't looking. There must be an explanation. She would have to look at her files and the tracking feature in the computer. But before that, she would get an earful. There was no way around it.

After a minute or two, when Sarah had added the booking in excel, she heard the handset of the phone slam into its place. She cringed.

"YOU INCOMPETENT FOOL. Mr. Wiggleton is one of our most important clients and you took a call and it is not there." For a minute, Anna remembered the mistake Sarah had done the week before, not reserving Daisy for a trip this same customer had requested. Gwen had saved the day with her quick thinking. It was a bit surreal to be on the scolding end for something Sarah herself had done and nobody had been harsh with her. She felt the adrenaline in her body rushing, urging her to react. It took all her self-control to stop herself from saying something she might regret. _Not here, not now_, she repeated to herself.

"Did you book it some other day?" Sarah perused the tabs of her inefficient scheduling system to see if she could find something else for Perkins Manufacturing.

"No Sarah. I remember booking it for exactly the same date and time you just put it into the system for." Her jaw was set firmly. She wouldn't show her any fear or inferiority. It was also grating to be spoken to in such a manner. Neither her parents, nor Pops or Elsie had ever spoken to her that way.

Anna reached for the all the trip sheets in the pilot's trays. She had filled it out and Sarah had approved it when she had come back from her break and Anna had relayed what she had managed in her absence. She was going through them to find the one belonging to this booking as Sarah started to berate her.

"Of course you would say that. But you can't find it now, can you?" Sarah's tone was raised to the point that it came across as shouting. Gwen turned from her desk. Thomas and Phyllis peeked from around the corner of the Accounting office. They were thankfully too far from the Pilot's room for any of them to overhear, but, Vera had moved to stand in the doorway of her office. Now that Sarah was sure that she had an audience, she continued. "I don't know why you are here to begin with if you can't do simple tasks. Why don't you just admit you can't handle this job and ask to be moved along somewhere else?" Anna turned to look at the others, truly mortified at the scene Sarah was causing. She was sure that she could put Sarah in her place as soon as the ranting was over. Gwen looked positively shocked. Vera was smirking at that comment, enjoying the show a little too much. She could swear she saw Thomas smile, before they exchanged glances and he hid his amusement for neutrality. Phyllis was stone-faced the entire time. As a Senior Manager and co-owner, Vera should have said something, but she didn't, so, Anna addressed Sarah.

"I'll not admit to any such thing Sarah. I will admit to a mistake if one has been made, but I am sure this is all a misunderstanding….. and, if you calm down, we can get to the bottom of it." She was very poised in her response.

"I'll be the one to say whether this is a misunderstanding or your bloody incompetence." Sarah was intent on humiliating Anna as publicly as possible. Before Anna could even respond, the booming sound of reason was heard from behind them.

"You'll do no such thing Sarah. If an error has been made, it will be remedied and the experience learned from. You have made mistakes before and those words have never been levied against you from me, or any other employee in this firm. You have no right to say them now to Anna or anybody else that comes in through the Bates Airlift doors as an employee or intern. Do you understand me?"

He looked calm, but Anna could tell there was anger in his eyes. Mr. Bates had also overheard the rant. God Bless him. Standing there firmly, with all the assurance of the voice of reason and ultimate authority, he was the incarnation of a knight in shining armor to her. He had come to save the damsel in distress. Part of her was thrilled with his presence, and absolutely grateful that the barking had been stopped, but another part of her was infinitely ashamed that she could not deal with the situation on her own before it escalated. It had gotten out of hand very quickly and she had not been able to adequately respond. _Would he think her weak, lacking in character?_

At his declaration, Sarah had turned around to see him. She could barely respond, surprised at his reaction. In all of her rant, it had never dawned on her that if the others could listen and witness the scene, so could he. She still looked furious, wanting to prove her point.

"Yes, Mr. Bates" she reluctantly answered when she saw that there would be no way to contradict his steely gaze.

"Oh John, if the girl is incompetent, there is no sense in defending her." Vera had obviously taken sides when she pressed Sarah's issue further.

Mr. Bates was none too pleased with Vera's comment. He turned to give her a look of disapproval. She had said that in front of the other employees and he did not care for her favoritism towards Sarah. This was not about taking sides. Anna was not impressed with Vera's comment either, but thought better than to react. As part owner, Vera owed it to the entire team to be neutral until all sides were heard. A good manager would have done that.

"Everybody except Anna and Sarah, please get back to work. We don't need an audience." Phyllis had left the moment Mr. Bates appeared, rendering Thomas as the one who had to leave. He didn't look too happy. He wouldn't be able to follow the conversation from his workstation. Gwen had never left her desk. She just turned back to what she was doing, while still tilting her ear in the direction of the confrontation. Vera just stood about, with no intention of leaving, so, Mr. Bates continued. "What is the problem?" His hands flailed authoritatively and he looked straight at Anna, but, Sarah was intent on answering.

"She's botched…."

Mr. Bates raised his hand and outstretched his palm. He didn't have to say anything else. His sole movement and intense eyes stopped her. Sarah looked unnerved by his actions.

"Sarah, we know your point of view on the matter. I think it is time to let Anna defend herself or accept the error on her part." He lowered his arm and crossed it with the other across his chest. "Anna, what do you have to say on the matter?" She could tell his body relaxed and his eyes, while still businesslike, lowered in intensity.

"Thank you Mr. Bates. We just received a call from Perkins Manufacturing. A booking I made is missing from the system. Sarah had to rebook it and provide Mr. Wiggleton's staff assistant assurances that no further errors would be made on the account."

Mr. Bates nodded in understanding.

"She says she booked it, but there was no proof of it in the system and no trip sheet to back her up." Sarah blurted her words, still trying to gain the upper hand.

"Excuse me a moment." Anna sprinted towards her desk, only a few steps away, and opened her file cabinet. Wanting to stop the nonsense, she pulled open a cream colored file folder that held some sheets of paper. At the same time, she wiggled the mouse to deactivate the screen saver. She had the proof if she could access her incoming email from Monday.

Everybody took a few steps towards her desk.

"Here it is." Anna turned in the same spot and held out the sheet for Mr. Bates to take possession of.

He received the photocopied document and brought it to his eye level to review.

"What is that?" Sarah came close to Mr. Bates so that she could read the document in his hands. Vera did as well on his other side.

"It is the trip sheet that I filled out, after I showed Sarah what I had booked. She signed it, after reviewing all the information and she told me that I had done well." Anna didn't lie there. She thought something was up when Sarah told her she had done a good job. "I was so chuffed that I did it right, that I made a photocopy to make sure any future bookings were done in the same manner." That was a lie. Heeding Gwen's warning, she had made copies to cover herself if a situation such as this ever took place.

Mr. Bates smiled, then, tried to hide it, wanting to appear neutral. Anna sensed, though, that he was relieved that the fault had not lain in her hands. Sarah's eyes were opened wide and she seemed to be formulating something to say. Whatever had happened with the booking, Sarah had clearly not anticipated Anna's cunning. Vera looked annoyed.

Before any of them could react further, Anna continued talking.

"In addition, every booking I made, I copied the tab where it was made and I emailed it to myself from Sarah's computer. I have four total documents for every call I took by myself in the last two days." She double clicked the appropriate icon on her desk to open the attachment. "This ought to be the correct one." When she could confirm it was - Sarah, Vera and Mr. Bates all leaned in to look at the excel document showing everything booked for this Friday, as it had appeared on Monday when booked. All the information was there.

From where Anna stood, she could see Gwen behind them. The redhead fist pumped into the air, supporting Anna. She was lip-synching something that looked like "OH MY GOD. YOU ARE AWESOME!" Anna averted her eyes, or she would be caught up in rejoicing with Gwen. She wasn't off the hook yet.

"Well, Anna. This clears any doubt as to if you ever booked the trip to begin with." With the evidence clearly visible, he affirmed it. "It was booked."

"She must have erased it when I was not looking. It might have been in the system on Monday, but it was not there today." Sarah would not let it go.

"I cannot explain that. Either of us could have made the mistake. If it was I that erased it, I am sorry."

Anna did not want to take things further and incriminate Sarah. She did not need an enemy in the office and laying the blame on her would only alienate Vera. She needed to continue in this position and taking half a hit would buy her an advantage. Her words let them all see that she was willing to take the blame for an "unknown occurrence." In this occasion, though, she had proved her competence.

Anna was not guilty of anything and knew that she could track exactly when the booking was erased. It had to have been Sarah who made the mistake, as the woman never let her touch the computer in her presence. Anna doubted for a second Sarah's motivations. _Was it a mistake or done on purpose? Would she have deliberately disappeared the trip sheet too? _If she had done it on purpose and had gone to those lengths to "protect" her position, she was in dire need of mental help.

Mr. Bates looked satisfied.

"Let's pay more attention next time, please." Relieved it was over, he added, "I think we should all get to work."

* * *

Anna whispered "thank you" to Gwen when she announced that Mr. Bates was calling everybody for an impromptu meeting immediately. It had been an hour since her ordeal and any break from Sarah's superiority prattle was welcoming. Since proving her competency, the woman had been unbearable. Mr. Bates' meetings were always interesting too. There wasn't a session where she didn't take any new knowledge away.

She filed in and took a seat, as the others did, not knowing what the meeting was about. The others were chatting idly, speculating as to the topic of the day. Some of them glanced her way, no doubt having heard about Sarah's tirade against her. She sat with her head held high. Gwen took a seat next to her and Phyllis on her other side. There were lots of other seats still open and it was natural for Phyllis to shy away, thus, it felt like the quiet lady's attempt at solidarity. Whatever it was, Anna appreciated the gesture all the same. Anna wanted to say something, but, Phyllis smiled and looked down, signaling she did not want to chat. Anna hadn't spent any time with her and still couldn't assess her motivations. She was an odd creature, that one. Anna continued to survey the rest of the room and Vera was noticeably missing. She seemed to do as she wished, not event trying to pretend she cared about the business. She'd come out at any hint of gossip or controversy, but, she hadn't attended any of the team's staff meetings yet. Anna wondered why she would fight to keep her portion of Bates Airlift if she wasn't committed to its management.

The team didn't have to wait to find out much longer about the reason for the meeting, as Mr. Bates walked in rather quickly, followed by a gentleman.

"Team, this is Frank Edmunds from the Make a Wish Foundation." They both took a seat at the head of the table and the man smiled and said a quick hello before Mr. Bates continued. "I've called you in here for a quick chat regarding Haley Winters."

"Some of you will recall that last year, our company assisted with the wish of Ronnie Preston." Anna had no clue what he was talking about, having only recently joined the firm. Mr. Bates must have seen her confusion, as well as Jimmy, who had also been there less than a year, because he felt compelled to explain.

"For those that are not aware, last year, 16 year old Leukemia patient Ronnie wanted to meet the Manchester United team and attend a game at the Old Trafford in company of Sir Alex. We had the honor of flying both of them in, right before a game started. We deposited them on the green, in the middle of the field, to the roar of the fans that had been advised of what would happen."

Anna's heart swelled with love at the thought. How wonderful that Bates Airlift did that.

Mr. Edmund's chimed in. "Ronnie had an amazing day. After the game, which ManU won, some of the opposing team's players who had also been previously advised of what would happen that day, stayed behind so that he could participate in an exhibition game. Ronnie got to wear a ManU kit with his name and a number which the team had made for him and they assigned him an empty locker. Sir Alex barked directions at him and he was able to score a goal into the opposing team's net. For this one day, he was one of the team and when he died, six weeks later, he was wearing the kit, very happy to have had that experience. The team also went to his funeral, which the family appreciated tremendously."

Anna held back tears. In the joy of the story that was being told, she had forgotten that some of these children sometimes did not make it. That was point of hosting their last wish - to give them one moment of supreme joy for everything they had endured.

Mr. Bates continued. "It is rare for a child's wish to involve the use of a helicopter, but Mr. Edmunds has come to me with another potential case and I think, that with a little creativity and planning, we can make seven year old Haley Winters' wish come true."

A very animated Daisy was the first to enquire. "Oooh, what is it? Tell us her wish!"

"Haley would like to fly on a dragon and rescue a princess from a castle and we will make it happen next week."

* * *

Elsie sat alone at the bust stop, waiting on Vera to make her arrival. It had been a few days since she had taken the questionable route and the bus. They had been tracking her for a little over a week and they were yet to make any definite progress. Out of the last seven days, they had followed her to the supermarket, to her waxing appointment, to shopping on York's High street where she had purchased some new shoes and several articles of clothing. She had taken tea with a friend that Anna had later confirmed was Sarah O'Brien. She had not done anything deceptive that might indicate that she was meeting somebody clandestinely. Elsie and Charles agreed that she was overdue a tryst and took a chance to anticipate her arrival at the Park and Ride car lot.

Charles was positioned on a side street where he could easily follow the bus if their hunch proved true. He and Elsie would communicate via texts if they were successful. Vera's GPS signal had started a few minutes ago and they would soon be able to determine if their guess had paid off.

He squealed internally when he saw her miss her turn towards home. She seemed to be coming towards them.

Elsie received a text from him.

_SHE MISSED HER EXIT. _

Blessed relief, she murmured, as she rubbed her forearms with her hands. It was a cool evening and her disguise of a running tracksuit and trainers was providing less warmth than she would like. She had her hair pulled back in a low bunch and she donned a sports cap. She was pretending to flex her muscles, as somebody who had just finished exercising might. A bus came and opened its doors, expecting her to board, but she waived it away. It roared as it sped onwards and Elsie looked at her watch. Only five minutes had passed since Charles' text. If Vera was coming toward her, she should be getting another text any minute now. She craned her neck towards the entrance of the parking structure. A few cars had entered and their drivers were parking close to where she was standing. Another bus was heralding its arrival and she couldn't be seen choosing to not board the bus.

Her mobile buzzed again.

-SHE'S COMING TO YOU. ETA 5-

Elsie grinned with excitement. There was nothing worse than a failed maneuver. Some customers arrived at the bus stop, those who she had seen parking just a few minutes earlier. The bus arrived and they boarded, leaving her behind. Finally, a few minutes later, she saw Vera's red FIAT come in to the lot.

She texted Charles as she saw Vera back into a spacious spot on the second row.

-TARGET VISIBLE-

To enhance her sporty persona, she continued to flex her muscles, stretching out the calves of her legs and reaching up to the sky with her arms. She felt the pain spread through her entire body and it reminded her why she rarely used this disguise. To keep up with illusion, she had to be in constant motion. She made a mental note to put this outfit at the bottom of the bin or retire it altogether.

She turned back when she saw Vera exit her car. She was facing toward the opposite direction when she heard the undeniable sounds of Vera's shoes clacking on the pavement.

Elsie continued to look away, feigning distraction by continuing with her stretches.

"That's a nice colored outfit."

Elsie was momentarily stunned. _Was Vera talking to her? Even when her back was turned_? There was nobody else around, making her the unquestionable recipient of Vera's friendly conversation. Elsie muffled her response. She wouldn't dare be impolite by not acknowledging her. "Thanks," was all she cared to answer, sending the message she wasn't one to want to talk. She stood leant against one of the supporting beams, facing away from Vera. She took her mobile as if to read something, giving off a busy vibe. _Where was the bus when she needed it? _If it took too long to come, Vera would remember her in her subconscious and she needed to avoid that. She also had to evade any rash moves or statements, as that would also become an indelible memory for Vera. Rudeness always was something that people remembered. Not being ordinary. She had to be random and nondescript to get away with this ruse.

From a distance, she heard the rumbling and the bus come closer as the seconds ticked away. The screeching sound of tires came to a stop a mere meter from where she was standing. She could only move and get on if Vera did. There were two routes that collected passengers from this stop and she hoped Vera got on. From her peripheral vision, she saw as Vera collected her handbag. The doors to the bus opened and Elsie moved, towards them, hoping she had made the right choice. She was relieved when she sensed Vera was right behind her. She entered and paid and moved forward within the bus, trying to find a place where she could sit that might be advantageous. Usually that was the middle if it was not too full. There were only a handful of patrons within, with plenty of open seats available. She chose a clean one. She distracted herself by fixing her gaze out of the window, but kept vigilant, observing from the corner of her eye as Vera paid and made her way down the aisle. Much to her chagrin, Vera took a seat two spaces from her. That was odd, when she had so many choices and the bus was only half full. The proximity affected Elsie's comfort and made her doubt. _Was Vera on to her?_ She relaxed. It was not likely. Maybe Vera was drawn to her motherly serene nature. It had happened to her before in really public places. She attracted odd individuals who were nervous and jumpy and were drawn to her calm and ever placid demeanor. That must be it. The inner turmoil of Vera's deceitful journey was prompting her to find a bastion of calm strength.

Elsie took out her mobile again, pretending to be caught up in something she was reading. If Vera's subconscious was bringing her close to Elsie, the private investigator would need to be as discreetly aloof as possible. She took advantage to text Charles. She could imagine him squealing when he got the message. She knew him too well to not know his little celebratory quirks.

ON BUS WITH TARGET

Upon further inconspicuous observation, Elsie noted that Vera kept peering out of the window, as if she suspected she was being followed. _Had she had seen Charles in his car_? That wasn't possible. Elsie was sure her guilt had her acting restlessly.

"Can I bother you with the time?"

Oh Lord, now Vera was talking to her again. She pretended not to hear and hoped that somebody nearby would offer her the time so she wouldn't ask again. Those nearby were intent on being obscure, thus, Vera asked again, a little louder, imagining that she had not been loud enough the first time.

"A quarter to eight", Elsie answered after peering down into her mobile's home screen. She hoped that would appease her. The last thing she needed was conversation.

They were still a few stops from where she and Pops had concluded Vera may have gotten off the last time. She peered out the window and could see Charles within their vehicle in the distance. He was not close enough to be compromised; only she could realize it was him. She predicted that Vera's descent from the bus would be quick, so she readied her next text for Charles. TARGET GETTING OFF. I CANT FOLLOW. YOUR MOVE - Charles would need to continue with the surveillance for them. She would withhold pressing the SEND button until Vera stood up.

In the second it took her to look up, Vera caught her gaze and spoke to her.

"I've never been brave enough to wear a track suit in public. I envy your courage." _Was Vera commenting on her poor choice of wardrobe and being facetious about it? _Elsie smiled graciously.

"Well, if one runs or exercises, they become necessary to wear….. It's not about courage, it's about comfort. At my age, I am not looking to impress anyone."

Vera laughed. "That is very true. I'm sorry. I may have sounded rude." She looked around again. "Oh my. My stop has crept up on me. Good bye."

Elsie stayed on the bus and hit the send key.

Charles received Elsie's text. He looked up and at the same time, he noticed Vera cross the street in front of him. She was swift, catching the tail end of the pedestrian walk signal. She made her way towards a taxi stand. The light was still red and he could not move. There were cars all around him. He wouldn't be able to follow unless he made a rash, visible maneuver, drawing attention to himself. With pain, he saw how she jumped into the back of one of the awaiting vehicles that were available. The car sped away in the direction from where the bus had just come.

He banged the steering wheel in frustration. She had eluded them again.

* * *

Anna smoothed the edges of the duvet around her, remaining upright, propped by the half dozen pillows on her bed. She had a pile of documents spread around her. She wouldn't be getting to bed anytime soon. She had received a package from Joe and she was intent on going through as much of the information that she could, hoping to garner clues and make a definite decision on who Vera's potential lover could be.

"Can I come in?" Mary stood at the door, home from a shift at the pub, looking weary and ready for sleep as well.

"Of course you can, just – don't mess any of my papers around. I've got a system going."

Mary took a seat on the corner of her Full sized bed, where she couldn't be in Anna's way.

"A system? My, My… how professional." She rolled her eyes and smiled, teasing Anna. This wasn't the first time she had come home to find Anna with investigation paperwork, but she had never seen Anna so immersed, so late in the evening. Pulling the double duty between working full days at the compound, then perusing all the documentation and listening to the voice files from Bates Airlift was bound to tire her out. She vowed to watch out if her friend was overexerting herself. "What's going on thus far?"

Anna chuckled at Mary's reaction to her organized mayhem. This was one of those cases that required her full attention and she was trying her hardest to make connections between the information she had. Mary was very useful. Whenever she was stuck, or trying to reason something out, she would explain it to Mary and the process of describing the information helped her make sense of it all. On occasion, when she didn't have any other leads, or ideas, Mary would ask questions that would start her thinking on alternatives. She could not talk about all her cases, some were of a very sensitive nature and she wasn't sure that it was ethical to reveal certain aspects of the data she had; however, for those that she could talk about, she did appreciate her friend's willingness to listen. In this case, there were very few degrees of separation between Mary and John and she waffled for a moment, wondering how much she could discuss. She probably would not talk about Vera's movements or any facts, even if Mary knew about John's marital troubles and her alleged infidelity. Talking about the potential suitors should not be a problem.

"Well, I have credit card and banking statements, plus, the mobile records for Vera and some of the men in the firm. I am trying to correlate the information to see if there are any clues."

Mary looked to a stack of neat files, those that were closest to her, and was able to quickly discern that these were the men under investigation. She took the dossiers into her hands and fanned them out as if they were playing cards. The pictures of the men were all visible.

"Why did you choose him?" She extricated the file with the picture of Jack Ross. "Nice looking bloke," she added.

"Remember that I have to try to think like Vera would." It was important for Anna to always try to get into the mindset of the target.

Mary agreed.

"Jack is an outlier. He's different than all the rest of the men. As an African-American working among the same type of man she's always seen, he stands out. His dark skin is attractive and his American voice is different."

"He's American?" Mary looked interested.

Anna nodded.

"He is very handsome and suave and from what little I've spoken to him, he's a gentle flirt, the type who doesn't mean to flirt, but who does so in a non-preying kind of way. One could be swept away with that charisma. He always gets the girl because he is very smooth and knows exactly what to say and what to do in any situation. He has a sparkle in his eyes. If I were Vera, I might be interested in seducing him because he is not the average man she's in contact with. She would see him as a trophy, somebody she could eventually boast about and if urban legend is true about the prowess of black men, she would want to get into his pants."

Mary laughed. She looked impressed with Jack Ross.

"Forget about Vera. I want to meet him…." She emphasized the "I".

"Sorry, love. He's spoken for. He has an English fiancé."

Mary pouted.

"What about this one? What does your inner Vera say about him?"

She now had Tom Branson.

"Oh, Tom? Well, he's Irish. He's a blue collar boy and has an amazing work ethic. He is very dedicated, with strong ideals and he actively participates with the mechanic labor union. He also has a boyish charm about him and is very handsome. If I were Vera, and if I were homesick for somebody from back home, Tom would be the perfect person for a tryst. Because of his politics and the typical antagonistic nature of management vs. labor, she would try to break him and seduce him to empower herself and reduce him. That seduction would be a power struggle and the fact that he's from back home makes it all the sweeter."

"Oh, well. He is very cute, but we'll just put him down. He seems too difficult to bother with."

Mary was picking up the next one.

"You are going to make me talk about each one, are you? ….and I am guessing that it is not precisely because you are interested in my work." Anna's brows furrowed and she looked at Mary quizzically.

Mary smiled and squinted her eyes in amusement. Anna had guessed her ulterior motives.

"You cannot fish for a new boyfriend from my work, Mary." Anna tilted her head, emphasizing her words, but smiling.

"Oh, please. It's not like I am going to go to your office to meet any of them…. I just like to know what's on the market. Do tell me about the others." Mary fished another from the pile, holding it high.

"Fine," Anna relented. Mary was not a serial dater. She'd had two steady boyfriends since they had met, but she was in a bit of a dry spell. There were many men she attracted, but, none were boyfriend quality. It wouldn't hurt to play this game with her.

She reached to see what new file Mary was holding.

"Evelyn Napier – He is a gentleman, the epitome of class and distinction. He is very chivalrous and gallant, the type who stands when you enter a room and goes out of his way to open a door for you. You could say that he is a reincarnation of a man of the past, not like the uncouth blokes we encounter these days. He comes from an aristocratic background and is the heir to his family's title, if not any land or money, but he doesn't boast or use that to his advantage. He earns an honest man's wage, while hiding his lineage. For all of Mr. Bates' money, Vera is a bit crass. I've seen and heard some things that might make your hair stand on end. If I were her, I might try to seduce him, because if she has any feelings of inferiority, bedding a member of the aristocracy might validate her."

"Mmm," Mary nodded, agreeing with Anna's reasoning.

"This is Anthony Strallan. He's an accountant and a bit of a geek. I bet if I were to open a storage room in his house, he would be the type to have every Star Wars action figure in its original box, stored away for posterity. He has a gentle heart, the type that is easily trampled over. I've seen them together and she is very forward with him. He is a good man, but awkward with women as he speaks to them. He is also a bit of a pushover. She gets a thrill from emasculating him and keeping him at her beck and call. I can't see her seducing him for her pleasure, rather, to control him and bid him do what she wants. I've seen him be aloof with Mr. Bates right after meeting with her, which means that she already has a hold on him of some sort. Out of all the men, he may be the one that likes or loves her and she is abusing that and taking advantage of it."

Mary seemed heartbroken for him. His picture reflected a kind soul. "How horrible for him."

"Well, we don't know any truths right now. Remember that this is speculation from observation. I hope to come to some conclusions from reading all of this." She spanned her arm horizontally, alluding to the piles of files that lay all over her bed. "It could be none of them at all or it could be one of the others I've not mentioned. It could be she is not having an affair at all and John Bates is crazy!"

"I doubt John is crazy." Mary rolled her eyes as she picked up the last dossier. "What about..." She focused to read the name. "….Richard Carlisle. He looks very dapper."

"He is, and he is the most difficult to read. He is hardly in the office. As the Sales Manager, Richard is out and about a lot. I am having a hard time figuring out what makes him tick and just wanted to have his information handy. I want to get a better idea of who he is and his potential motivations."

"Interesting." Mary put the dossiers together and handed them back to Anna. "Have you found anything yet?"

"I am just starting. Ask me again tomorrow."

* * *

CALL ME WHEN YOU CAN. RE: BATES

When did that come in? She had not heard her mobile vibrate. It must have been late at night as she went through the documentation. She was so focused, they could have had an emergency and she would not have noticed. She put her mobile in the cradle mount, turned on the ignition in her car, adjusted her Bluetooth earpiece and called Elsie back. She was on her way to another day of work.

The phone hardly rang before Elsie answered.

"Hello, love."

"It's me. I just realized you sent me a message yesterday. Sorry, I was going through the paperwork and must have not heard."

"No problem. It was not urgent. If I had needed to talk to you desperately, I would have found you."

Anna chuckled. Elsie was very persistent went she wanted to be. She would have called the home phone, Mary's mobile, or rang her a dozen times until she called back. She'd done it before.

"How are you getting on in that place? I wish you didn't have to be there."

Elsie would worry, so, there was no point in making her nervous. She needn't know about the challenges she was having with some of the staff. She would think that Anna needed to leave, her motherly instinct wanting to protect her, but Anna, despite the minor setbacks, was very happy to be learning something different.

"Everything is fine."

Anna's statement was lacking any emotion and Elsie paused, considering asking her more questions. She stopped herself when she remembered that Anna was an adult and if there was a problem, she would tell her.

"Listen, Pops and I need you to come home tonight so we can share data. Vera is definitely up to something. She took the same bus route as last time, got off and then took a taxi to another location. She was nervous the entire time. We waited until she returned to her car. She was gone over two hours. Perhaps it is time to give Mr. Bates a report."

"I was going to suggest the same thing."

"Only, we need to go more covert. Vera insisted on striking a conversation with me yesterday, so, I have been slightly compromised. It is not wise for me to go meet with him, nor is it for Pops, as he will have to front the next surveillance runs. You'll have to meet him alone and devise another communication strategy - Something modern, something you young'uns would understand, but, I would have no clue."

"Do you think she knows about us?" Elsie was rarely concerned, so, it was important to heed her warning.

"It's not likely, but, she was too nervous, peeking out of the window constantly. I hardly think she is on to us specifically, but, it would do good to avoid being seen with him altogether. Whatever she is hiding is making her act this way and if she gets paranoiac enough, she might trail him too. "

"Sure, I'll set something up for tomorrow. I'll tell him today."

* * *

"Hello, Robert."

"Anna, how lovely to see you. Mary is in the back office."

Anna wasn't there to see Mary; she had made an appointment to talk with John Bates about his case.

"I'm actually here to meet Mr. Bates, so, if it's all the same to you, I'll just sit here at the counter and wait for him."

"No problem. What can I get you?"

"How about a Pimms Lemonade?" She moved to open her handbag and pay, but he stopped her.

"You let my daughter live with you for free and you are going to make my best mate's life a hell of a lot better. It's on the house." She smiled with a bit of embarrassment. She owned the flat where they lived, purchased with part of her inheritance. Mary paid many of their other expenses, sharing in all the other costs. It was not a charity to have her there; it was mutual companionship. She appreciated his gesture all the same, but worried about his statement regarding his best mate. She knew he meant her private detective skills would solve his marital issues, but, might her increasing attraction to Mr. Bates be noticeable? Surely it was not. Robert's words made her apprehensive, though. She was good at what she did and wanted so badly to deliver what Mr. Bates needed, for more reasons that she could even fathom. She hoped to live up to their expectations.

"Thank you," she accepted graciously.

Not a moment later, she saw Robert's face change. Upon it, she could see the excitement of familiarity, of coming across somebody very dear. Mr. Bates must have arrived. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She remained staring forward, willing the sensation to pass and trying to look as natural as possible. It wouldn't do to have Robert suspect she was having misguided feelings for her client, his friend. Neither of the men needed to know that she had gone home straight after work to shower and change, wanting to look her best. She could have come straight from the office, yet, he had called her beautiful earlier in the week and she didn't want to shatter the illusion. This is not a date, she repeated to herself. This is a business meeting. Her head was aware, and now her heart needed to understand too.

"Anna, Robert, Good Afternoon." His deep, masculine voice greeted them from over her shoulder. A shiver ran down her spine. She could smell the same cologne from the other day too. She turned and saw a very relaxed and jovial Mr. Bates wearing the same clothing she met him in so many weeks ago – jeans, a classic white polo shirt and a leather aviator jacket. He looked gorgeous. His hair flopped into his face, unruly locks scattered about. His smile was infectious. He looked happy to see her and happy to be there. The strict suit persona she encountered on a daily basis was a fine figure of a man, very mature, exacting authority and demanding of respect. She respected him greatly. The alternate persona she had in front of her looked younger and of freer spirit. She liked this version very much too.

"Hello," they both responded back in unison. Robert was quick to pull a glass and fill it with Diet coke. He pushed it towards John.

John took a seat next to her at the deserted counter. He looked relieved that there was nobody else they had to share it with. There were plenty of patrons scattered about, yet all of them had preferred tables that evening. He turned a moment away from her, pretending to fix something inside his jacket. There was nothing wrong with it at all. He just needed a moment to breathe. Had this been a date, he would have told her how lovely she looked. She took his breath away. He was used to seeing her very businesslike, having met her in a pantsuit with her hair pulled back, and had never seen her in anything beyond her professional attire and the same hairdo since. Well, that would be true if you ignored the locker incident. He had seen her in a towel - a very skimpy towel. That was the exception. Now, she was wearing slim jeans, black boots that went up to below her knees and a figure flattering royal blue jumper with a cowl neck that accentuated her curves perfectly. She had let her hair down, in waves and it was entrancing. How beautiful her golden hair made her look. This wasn't a date, though. It was a business meeting and it wouldn't be proper to say such things. Her Godparents who were not here yet wouldn't appreciate him ogling at her either.

"Mr. Bates. I'm glad you could come. "

He finished finagling with his jacket and turned to look at her.

He almost whispered his answer. "I wouldn't miss it." He paused and looked around. "Are you sure we shouldn't head to the back office instead?"

"Are you still being paranoiac mate?" Robert's face showed he was mocking his friend. His voice was teasing. "Do you still think you are being followed?" Robert couldn't avoid listening to their conversation. Everything was tidy and well stocked. Besides the occasional customer walking to the counter to get a drink, there wasn't much for him to do. He couldn't disappear and not tend to his business.

Before John could say anything, Anna interceded on his behalf. "You shouldn't tease him. There is substance to his fears."

Both Robert and John's faces fell.

"So, isn't that the more reason to go inside?" John persisted.

"No. It is better if we are here. I don't believe you are being followed, but if you were being trailed, it would take a few minutes for the investigator to park their car and come inside. You've only just got here. If there were two investigators, like my godparents work together, the other tracker would have walked in a few minutes behind you, already sitting down where they could observe you. Nobody has come in yet."

Robert observed the tables that were full. "Besides that table in the back, the rest are all regulars. The folks in the back table have been here for about an hour and have already paid part of their tab with a credit card. I don't think they are suspicious."

Anna continued. "Robert's knowledge of his customers and his business is our perfect cover. If somebody was intent on following you, then, our disappearing into or coming out of an office together would be highly suspicious. If Robert stays here, in the bar area, and surveys everybody who comes and goes, it is easier to come across as two business colleagues that just happened to run into each other at a pub - nothing more than a happy coincidence. He could then alert us and we could take extra precautions."

"What about Mr. and Mrs. Carson. Won't it be crowded with them here too?"

"No, they are not coming. They thought it was better if they did not. I'll explain in a moment."

_Spending time alone with Anna?_ He couldn't imagine his luck. Before his emotions could betray him, he conceded. "That makes perfect sense, then."

_Did he just get excited that they are not coming?_ She thought he smiled quickly before he agreed with her. She must have imagined it because his face was as stoic as when he was in the office. Never mind, she thought to herself.

To settle the issue of the meeting's location, she had one more question to pose. She did not want to assume that everything she had to say could be mentioned so freely, so close to his friend. She didn't want to hurt Robert's feelings or put Mr. Bates in a difficult situation with her next statement, but she must ask. "Unless of course, you don't want anybody to know?" She hadn't said Robert's name, but hoped he understood the implication of her question.

Robert looked down, not wanting to pressure John, allowing him to make his own determinations.

John looked flabbergasted at the thought.

"No, of course not. I trust Robert implicitly." His old comrade looked up, very touched and pleased with his words. "He knows everything about this situation. If something ever happened to me, there is nobody I trust more to make decisions and represent me than Robert Crawley. I trusted him with my life; I can trust him with any sordid details you have to give me."

Mr. Bates looked at his friend before turning back to Anna.

"So, tell me."

Anna recounted the details of Vera's movements; how they had tracked her and had begun to see a pattern emerge. She explained Elsie's idea that she had been compromised as well.

"So, she has something to hide. I am not surprised."

"I just want to confirm that we are not chasing a dead end here. Are you aware of those movements? Does she do anything that requires her to take a bus, then a taxi?"

"Absolutely not. She does not tell me where she is going or what she is up to. She was never very charitable, nor politically inclined, nor religious, and does not have any hobbies, so, I cannot imagine that she is participating in any groups that would keep her entertained or out of the house on a regular basis. This would mean that my suspicion is confirmed."

"To a degree. We cannot confirm that yet, but she is grooming herself and that may or may not be an indicator. You would have to tell us if that is something she has always done."

"Grooming?" He looked perplexed and ran his hand through his hair.

Oh Lord. She had to tell him about the Brazilian wax. It would kill her to find out he had seen it. Although, it shouldn't. Vera was his wife. No matter his desire to divorce his wife, that didn't mean they weren't intimate with each other. She had seen it countless times in other cases. Lust won over reason and many couples on the verge of divorce couldn't stay away from each other.

The easiest way now would be to be direct with it. She avoided his eyes by pretending to pick lint from her sweater. She focused on a particular troublesome part in her wrists as she asked her question.

"Vera had her vagina waxed to remove pubic hair. You may have noticed. Does she do that regularly?" She felt her face flush after the question.

John couldn't believe the last enquiry. Anna thought he still had relations with his wife. That hadn't happened in over five years…..or more. He honestly couldn't remember. Their marriage had been many things, but passionate was not one of them. He didn't know why, but he felt he had to set Anna straight.

She forced herself to look up.

He couldn't place the look in her eyes. It was almost as if he could tell she was imploring him to not know about the wax. He sighed. "Well, if she is grooming herself, it was not for me. I honestly can't tell you if she does that regularly or not. It has been years since….." His voice trailed off uncomfortably. He hoped she understood.

Anna had. She was relieved; more relieved than she had any right to be.

"It's a painful process. It is not a rule, but, more often than not, that type of torture is only endured for somebody else's benefit. We will continue on her trail and we will find whose benefit that is."

* * *

The evening progressed smoothly. Nobody had come to track John. Robert kept a vigilant watch, looking out for anybody suspicious. Robert recognized most of his patrons, as this wasn't a large town. When more customers came in, he had sought Mary out to come from the back to help. She soon joined him, having finished the accounting in the back office. Mary saw John and her friend, and greeted them briefly before she went back to tending to their customers.

Anna and John hardly acknowledged Mary when she came to them. They were still wrapped up in each other and their conversation. It had flowed freely regarding the investigation, with some witty interruptions of the most mundane topics. Talking to each other seemed natural and comfortable.

Eventually, it shifted to the matter of her work at Bates Airlift and her undercover impressions. She did not disclose her five candidates because it was her speculation and if anything changed at all in his treatment of them, the investigation could be derailed. She just told him she had started concentrating on certain individuals so that he felt there was progress.

Eventually, they discussed recent events.

"I am very embarrassed about Sarah's reaction towards you." He looked honest.

She had wondered how she could bring up the topic. There were nagging doubts in her mind since that moment. _Did he think her incompetent?"_

"On the contrary, I am very concerned that you may think that the internship is going poorly. I am new in your business and I will make mistakes, but, Mr. Bates, I promise you that I did not do anything of what Sarah accused me of."

He raised his hand to stop her from continuing.

"I have two things to say about what you just said. The first is - Don't apologize. I know you just started with us, but, I am very pleased with the quality of your work at Bates Airlift. You have demonstrated competency and initiative. If you were looking for an actual job, I would probably hire you." He had a look that did not make her doubt he meant what he said.

The joy in her heart at hearing that statement with such conviction made her smile wide. She wondered if it was appropriate to react that way to such a comment. He was complimenting her personally, for something she was trying to excel in. Something she was trying to achieve – a break from her current job. That confidence led her to react playfully to his statement.

"I am rather pleased to hear that… and who knows what will happen after we wrap up this investigation. I may come knocking at your door."

John laughed in response. Anna's demeanor during her last statement was very coquettish. She was flirting with him. Her smile was adorable, as was the way her head tilted towards him when she said those words. He also hoped that after the investigation was over, he could still see her.

"What is the second?" Anna asked, still smiling at him.

"You do not have to call me Mr. Bates outside the office. You should call me John." He realized that even outside the compound, she was calling him Mr. Bates. It made him feel very ancient. He wasn't sure how old she was, but if she were close to Mary's age, that made the amount of years between them sizeable. Having her call him Mr. Bates made it worse.

Anna thought she would melt. She was sure he could see it too, as she found it difficult to conceal the feelings that were rushing forth. Calling him John would make their relationship, or whatever this was, what they were doing, or not doing, more personal. She longed for anything that would make them closer. But she couldn't. If she were to start calling him John, there would come a moment where she might be mixed up and ruin her cover, or jeopardize him. For the success of the mission, she would have to desist.

"I would love to, but I can't Mr. Bates."

He looked disappointed." _Was he reading her signals wrong_? She had been flirting with him seconds before.

"I need to continue to call you Mr. Bates. If I don't, I could make a mistake at the office and jeopardize the investigation." His reaction eased and she smiled before continuing. "As soon as it is over, I will call you John. I promise."

"Well, as long as you promise…" She was so professional and he understood. She had also pledged to change that in the future._ The future? Could there be a future in this?_ They would have to wait and see. Everything seemed so tumultuous at the moment.

The tone turned to business again. Anna still had some thoughts she wanted to discuss.

"Can I give you the rest of my impressions about the office?" she added, affirmed by his previous statements that made her feel as a valuable member of his team. When he assented, she spoke of her general observations of the department, how his business was at risk and some ideas she had about the automation that could help remedy the situation. She tried to disparage Sarah as little as possible because that was not her main focus and after their discussion, she realized that Ms. O'Brien wouldn't be leaving any time soon while Vera Bates was still at the compound. It was a good conversation overall.

* * *

"What do you mean this is the last time we will meet? He looked concerned when Anna told him. "How am I supposed to get information about the investigation? What about everything you said about it being fine for us to be at the counter together?"

John felt deflated. His session with Anna had been a delightful experience. Nothing that was said about Vera shocked him, or made him feel bad. Rather, what he had gathered on this evening was that Anna Smith was charming, funny, competent, wise and very beautiful. It was a lethal combination; one that he had would give anything to repeat if only his situation were different. It was not and he needed to keep reminding himself. He shouldn't dare think of anything else until he was divorced.

Anna observed his reaction. He seemed genuinely disheartened by this. It was for the best. They both knew it. She'd waited until everything else was discussed that evening to tell him that Elsie and her Pops felt that Vera's nervousness warranted extra precaution. That, plus Vera's statement from earlier in the week regarding his potential infidelity required caution. She had not told Elsie about it. She did not feel right having his image sullied; especially not to her Godparents - Not when she wasn't certain about anything. She would never confront John, not even as a private investigator. She had overheard Vera ask him about a woman's name before he closed the door as he entered her office. She had no right, as her question had nothing to do with their arrangement. Anna was close enough to hear Vera's mocking tone and accusatory words. Whatever he was doing was his business. Her growing feelings for him aside, It would hurt her if that was what he was really up to, as he had demonstrated such passion when he spoke about his business that first time they met. She would not believe he would put that at risk. Yet, if Vera was inclined to believe it were true, it wouldn't be right for them to be seen together so often outside of the office. They could pull it off this once. After that, her association with John Bates could be misconstrued and hurt him in the long run.

Not that it would not hurt her. This evening had surpassed her expectations. He was such a gentleman and everything he said and did made her think that Vera did not know what she was giving up by cheating on him. She didn't know about his whole life, and it was fraught with turmoil, but she sensed he was a romantic man, capable of great passion and love, but suffering for a lack of it. He didn't know what it felt like to be loved or wanted by a woman. She wished she could be the one to show him.

He understood the reasoning when she explained Elsie's suspicions and didn't question her further. He was more concerned about communication during the investigation. It was crucial to be kept informed.

"We'll be using your IPhone." She asked for it and looked at the settings. She made sure it was not compromised by smartphone monitoring systems or apps. They needed to be extra careful if it was to be their primary mode of communication. He did not have it password protected. She changed that. It would be better if Vera did not chance upon his content if he happened to leave it lying around in their home. He chose something, at her urging, that Vera could never guess. He did not seem to be tech savvy, nor was he aware of the features allowed to him on his smartphone. He confessed he only had one because it seemed to be the thing to do. The extent of his knowledge was downloading apps and his entire inventory consisted of flight trackers, GPS maps, fancy compasses, navigations charts, etc. – basically, things relating to his passion.

She downloaded the DROPBOX application and explained the uses and how files would be loaded for his viewing. They accessed the text document that was there, a day to day register of Vera's whereabouts arranged by time. She had uploaded an extract of Sarah's outburst from the day prior, caught on her voice activated mini recorder to illustrate how voice and video surveillance files might be uploaded as well.

"This is incredible," he repeated, when she explained the strategy. She was the only one that had a password and would be the only one uploading information.

Anna's communication strategy did not limit to file sharing in DROPBOX. "I have opened a twitter account for you and have set it up to where you already follow at least 50 others who I thought might interest you, including myself. Some of those have already followed you back. That makes you look like a normal account. That is for us to communicate as well."

"You opened a twitter account for me?" She didn't know if he was upset. She could not read him this time. He looked shocked.

"Yes…. Under a new email. Your identity is YorkFlyBoy. I am EyeInTheSky." She downloaded the twitter app, and made sure she turned off the location tracking features.

He chuckled. So maybe he was not upset. Probably bemused. Too much technology at the same time.

She explained that they could use the Direct Message function in twitter for urgent messages. She would receive it immediately, even at work, but they would also restrict DM usage. If they were ever compromised, it would not do to have that type of evidence. Instead, they would send public messages, encrypted through wording that would mean nothing to others, but would be insightful to them. They would only ever tweet publicly, understanding that the message was meant for the other.

"So, how do I tweet?" he asked. He looked very willing to participate.

"You are allowed 140 characters. Let me show you."

She thought for a moment, remembering something her mother would always tell her. It could help him now. She wrote her message and pressed tweet.

**Hold fast to your dreams, for without, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. –Langston Hughes #neverlosehope**

* * *

Mary and Robert stood together outside of the counter area. They had both wiped down several of the tables and had organized some of the chairs that were left scattered when their customers left. Nobody but regulars were still sitting about and it was almost time to close. Soon they would be asking everybody to leave. There was still no worry regarding Anna and John's security. Robert had been extra vigilant, wanting his friend's endeavors to succeed and there had been nothing alarming. Several hours later, father and daughter stood towards the back and didn't know what to make of what they were seeing.

"Do you suppose there is more to them than it seems?" Mary asked her father as she crossed her arms and tilted her head in observation. Her face reflected confusion. There was something about the way the two were sitting, facing each other, in a very intimate manner that gave the casual observer the feeling the two participants were together, as a couple. "I smell trouble," added Mary when her father did not respond.

Robert was just as shocked as Mary was and he didn't know that he wanted to talk about John to anybody. His friend was a private man. He only hesitated momentarily. Mary had vested interest as Anna's best friend. She would also want to look out for Anna.

The truth was, he had seen Anna flirting with him very subtly. Twice he had seen her reach out and touch him. She laughed at his jokes in the odd moments where they weren't talking about the case or her internship. Not that John looked to be suffering. He caught his friend touching her back. More than once, he saw him give Anna an adoring gaze when she wasn't looking.

He also rolled his head, trying to get a better angle of observation. "I haven't seen John this happy in almost two decades. He hasn't stopped smiling since he got here. I am no expert, but I agree, there may be more than just an investigation going on. Those two have some explaining to do."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to all those that have reviewed! I hope this isn't boring you.**


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